Throughout the season, Penn State softball coach Robin Petrini has said each game is as important as the next and that no win is more important than another. However, this weekend could prove to be different.

Currently sitting in ninth place in the Big Ten conference, the Nittany Lions (22-29, 5-9 Big Ten) are still fighting for a spot in the Big Ten tournament, which has expanded its field this year to eight teams. This weekend, Penn State travels to Indiana and Purdue to battle the two worst teams in the Big Ten and hopefully separate itself from Ohio State and Wisconsin, who share Penn State's conference record but have better overall records.

"We need to do the same old stuff this weekend," Petrini said. "We need good pitching, solid defense and some clutch hitti ng."

Penn State bounced back from a rough weekend, which saw the team go 1-3 in conference play, by beating Syracuse Wednesday in both games of a doubleheader. Once again, the Lions pitching staff threw well and kept control of the game, allowing the offense to piece together a few multiple-hit innings to score some runs.

The Lions are still searching for some consistency on offense however. Despite the solid hitting numbers of freshmen Jen Williams and Meghan Wolfer at the top of the order, there are only three other players on the team with batting averages above .200. However, the team's pitching staff has been able to keep the Lions in games, giving the team a chance to win every game.

Indiana (29-28, 4-10) has seen recent success in Big Ten games. Last time out, the Hoosiers came out of the weekend series against Northwestern and Michigan State with one win in each. This week they added another win to their record as they split with Kentucky on Wednesday.

Purdue (30-22, 3-11), on the other hand, wasn't as fortunate as Indiana against the Wildcats and Spartans.

The Boilermakers managed only one win against the two teams in last weekend's series of conference play. However, they did benefit from a weekday series against Dayton as they swept the Flyers to earn their eighth straight 30-win season.

Petrini said the Lions need at least eight conference wins in her opinion to secure a spot in the Big Ten tournament.

This weekend provides a solid opportunity for the team to earn the three wins they need to reach that mark.

Penn State will close out regular season play the weekend of May 8 as it welcomes Ohio State to Nittany Lion Field for the team's last home series.