The Penn State baseball team (7-6) may only be two victories away from its best start in five years -- but it'll have to get past Bucknell first.

Sweeping today's doubleheader shouldn't be too difficult, though.

The Bison (1-11) are averaging nearly three errors per game and are inept in virtually every statistical category.

Still, Penn State coach Robbie Wine is trying not to get ahead of himself.

"The opponent doesn't matter," he said. "If you start to look at that stuff, you're going in the wrong direction."

The Nittany Lions will try to avoid complacency in their longest-standing rivalry -- the Bucknell matchup dates back to 1893 -- but will have to accomplish that with two new starting pitchers at the helm.

Senior Josh Palm and Steve Cline, a junior, will get the nod in the Lions' home debut -- despite playing mostly as relievers.

"We're looking for that fourth solid starter, and possibly even five, in this Big Ten Conference," Wine said of his decision to start the pair.

While both pitchers are normally accustomed to relief duties, the duo still seems fairly confident about the switch. Palm, who was in the starting rotation as a freshman and sophomore, even added that "it'll be a fairly easy transition."

The worry isn't on defense, though, because the Lions' pitching staff has historically performed well. The offense has been another story.

But Wine is in the midst of changing that. Penn State is collectively hitting .300 this season -- opposed to last year when only Michael Milliron reached the .300 plateau.

Milliron, who has a 13-game hitting streak, believed that progress could basically be attributed to one thing.

"Everybody on the team is being more aggressive," Milliron said. "We're getting in the box, and we're ready to hit -- as compared to getting in the box to maybe take one or two pitches to get a read."

Milliron said that by hitting aggressively the Lions put pressure on the other team and open some holes in the opposing defense.

But if there's one particular aspect the offense has to work on, it's remaining intense through nine innings.

The Lions have been maddeningly inconsistent in the middle-frames. They're currently being outscored 27-11 in the fourth and fifth innings.

Wine also said the baserunning has to improve. Players like Matt Lewis, however, are making up for some baserunning mistakes.

Lewis leads the Big Ten with a .460 batting average and should be a force in the Bucknell game.

The last time Penn State started with a better record through 15 games was 2000 when it opened the season 13-4 and eventually earned a berth in the NCAA Super Regionals.