"They are ready for the competition in the Big Ten, this is a very level-headed team. The St. Francis game won't affect them," Penn State coach Robin Petrini said, referring to the double-digit wins against the Red Flash. "The competition we played in the preseason tournaments have prepared us for the conference schedule."
Penn State is a much-improved team from this time last season. The Lions enter conference play seven games above .500, a 14-game turn around from last season's 11-19 record at the same point.
"I was very optimistic coming into this season because we really improved our talent," Petrini said. "We equaled the expectations that I had coming into the season. I expected the numbers that the freshman are putting to come during their sophomore season."
The main reason for that improvement is the highly praised quartet of freshmen the Lions send out every game. Freshman shortstop Jen Acunto leads the team in RBI with 21 but the number wouldn't be so high if it weren't for the speed of the three outfielders -- junior Leigh Murray and sophomores Jen Williams and Meghan Wolfer. The trio has stolen 20 bases on 22 attempts, putting itself in scoring position almost every time someone gets on base.
Wisconsin will try to stop the potentially explosive Penn State offense with three pitchers allowing hitters to bat .286 against them. The Badgers have given up a combined 40 runs in their last nine games, compared to Penn State's 18 in the same span.
The Golden Gophers on the other hand are more known for their speed on the base paths. Minnesota once again is leading the Big Ten in stolen bases with 55 steals, 10 more than second-place Ohio State. The Gophers rarely get to show their speed because the team is hitting a just .229.
"We take each Big Ten game as serious as the last one," Penn State utility player Kari Lucas said. "We treat them all as rivals. It doesn't matter if it's Minnesota and Wisconsin or if it's Iowa, we treat each game as a rivalry game."
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