You can run but you can't hide.

That's not so much the motto of the Nittany Lions (7-6) baseball team as it is Mother Nature these days. After having their doubleheader against Bucknell pushed back a day and eventually cancelled due to rain and snow, the Lions will travel to Harrisonburg, Va., for a weekend series against James Madison University.

But wouldn't you know it, the forecast in the land of the Dukes (6-11) is calling for rain Saturday and Sunday.

If the games due manage to elude raindrops, Penn State will face JMU tomorrow at noon and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The Lions have not played since last Sunday and are coming off of a three-game sweep of Delaware. They go into the weekend above .500 for the first time all season. Penn State's bats were very active against the Blue Hens. The Lions are hoping that the week off didn't cool them down at all.

"We're just putting a lot of the pressure on the other teams," senior shortstop Mike Milliron said. "In terms of when we're in the box and also when we're on the bases because we always have people running or hit-and-running ... when you do that, you just open up so many holes -- it's easier to hit that way."

Against the Blue Hens the Lions picked apart the diamond, scoring 25 runs on 33 hits in the three games. JMU has a team ERA of 5.99 so the chance to duplicate that type of effort could be there as long as batters go to the plate with the same mindset they have all season. Compared to last season when only one batter hit over .300 -- five players with at least 25 at bats top that so far, and a team average of exactly .300 -- this year's team is more aggressive and is making a lot more solid contact.

"I don't now last year," Penn State coach Robbie Wine said. "I know we have a bunch of new hitters that have the right makeup and mentality to go out there and battle every at-bat ... I think the confidence is growing; we're a little more aggressive."

JMU also has its fair share of free swingers. Michael Cowgill leads the team with a .369 average, four home runs and 14 RBI. As a team, however, the Dukes average nearly eight strikeouts a game and fewer than three walks. Heading into the series that would not be against Bucknell, Wine was hoping to get senior Josh Palm and junior Steve Cline starts. Cline (1-1) has started one game this season, while Palm (0-0), who has been a starter earlier in his career, has come out of the bullpen all season.

Wine said with Palm coming out of the bullpen, the team wasn't getting enough out of the 6-foot-4 righty.

"This offseason I really tried to develop a strikeout pitch," Palm said. "So far, the slider's actually been pretty good for me -- so as long as I can keep that and keep confidence in that; I think I can be effective for a long time."

Now if it would just stop raining it wouldn't be such a long time until Penn State finally plays some baseball again.