A tough schedule is nothing new for the Penn State softball team. Last season the Nittany Lions (0-0) opened their season against the best softball schools in the nation.

In three out of its first four games, Penn State faced No. 2 Arizona, No. 7 Georgia and No. 1 UCLA. The Lions also faced seven more ranked opponents over a 12-game stretch, which Penn State finished with a 1-11 record.

"We always like to open up with a tough schedule, but not as tough as it was last year," Penn State Robin Petrini said. "You always like to play highly ranked teams but just not all in a row."

This season the Lions are again starting with some primo competition, but the first couple of games aren't as impossible as they were last year. Penn State opens its season at the 2005 Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where they will play Maryland (0-0), Missouri (4-0) and the host school, No. 6 Alabama (11-0).

The Missouri Tigers are coming off of two victories against No. 18 Florida State in Tallahassee and are first up against Penn State, at 12:30 p.m. today. The Lions will need their top of the order table-setters -- Jen Williams and Meghan Wolfer -- to be at their all-Big Ten level if the Lions hope to knock off nationally ranked Alabama at home.

This weekend will also be the first test for freshman right-handed pitchers Ashley Esparza and Jenn Reynolds, who are expected to be solid pitchers for the Lions this season.