It's obvious that without consistent offensive production, a team will have trouble winning games. The Penn State softball team has seen such a problem plague it throughout the season.

"It's frustrating," Penn State softball coach Robin Petrini said.

The Nittany Lions (19-26, 4-6 Big Ten) will have a chance to pick up a few conference wins this weekend, if their offense decides to show up. The Lions travel first to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes (30-7, 8-2) in a two-game series beginning tomorrow at 1 p.m., and then head to Illinois to battle the Fighting Illini (30-15-1, 7-3) in a Sunday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

After an outburst last Sunday against Michigan State that included a 17-run effort in two games, the offense disappeared on Tuesday as Penn State split with Akron.

The team scored only five runs, all of which came in the first game of the doubleheader.

"Striking out and not putting the ball in play [hurt us against Akron]," Penn State centerfielder Leigh Murray said. "Sometimes our bats are there, sometimes they're not."

However, it could prove difficult for the Lions to find their offense this weekend as they face two of the top three teams in the Big Ten.

"We need to win some games," Petrini said. "Big Ten games are always important, one is no more important than another."

Penn State is trying to stick to the basics this weekend and pick up some wins. Despite the production at the top of the order from both Meghan Wolfer and Jen Williams, the batters following them haven't been able to knock them in consistently.

"We need to play solid defense," Murray said. "We're making routine plays and that's big in the Big Ten. And our pitching has been strong. So if we can generate a few runs and our defense remains consistent, we'll be alright."

Iowa comes into the weekend off a 4-3 win Wednesday against Northern Iowa in which the team scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win. However, last weekend the Hawkeyes suffered the same fate as the Lions against Michigan as they dropped both games 3-1.

For the Illini, it took 11 innings to earn their 30th win of the season. After both teams scored two runs early, it took a one-out double in the bottom of the eleventh to end the game. Last time out in the Big Ten, Illinois did one better than both Penn State and Iowa, splitting the weekend with the conference-leading Wolverines.

"Our coach tells us there's three things to winning: offense, defense and pitching," Penn State pitcher Shana Riggleman said. "I don't want to say our hitting is the reason [for the losses] because there could be something else."

Whether it's the team's hitting or another aspect of its game, Penn State needs to put some runs on the board if it hopes to come out of the weekend with some wins.