The vitalization of the Penn State softball team took its first gut shot this weekend, knocking the Nittany Lions off the top of the Big Ten mountain.

Inevitably, every team will hit a slump at some point in the season, but the Nittany Lions could not have picked a worse time to have the bats suddenly go cold.

Entering the start of the Big Ten season, Penn State (21-7, 1-3 Big Ten) won only one of four games against two middle-of-the-road teams this weekend, going 1-1 against Purdue and dropping two 4-0 games to Indiana.

After scoring eight runs in their first game of the four-game weekend series, the Lions could only muster one more run while leaving 15 on base in the remaining three games. The muzzled offense gave the Lions their first losing streak since the first two games of the season.

"I think they just got a little bit frustrated. They are not used to not hitting the ball the way they are used to and some frustration came into play," Penn State coach Robin Petrini said.

The pitching staff also had its first stumble this weekend, surrendering 11 runs in three games after the shutout against Purdue to open the weekend. The majority of the damage came from the long ball.

"The other teams just hit some good pitches," Petrini said. "The Big Ten fields are 190 to 220 [feet to the fence], most of them. If someone gets a hold of any pitch, it'll go."

If that's the case, the Lions may want to obtain some of the sticky grip that allowed the two Indiana school foes to get such a good handle on the Penn State pitches. Starting pitchers Missy Beseres and Ashley Esparza got some ballet practice on their pirouettes as they were spun around a combined five times watching balls fly out of the park after allowing only three home runs in the first 24 games of the season.

Petrini said the wind played a factor on the long balls hit yesterday.

"The second home run barely got out," Petrini said. "The first one was just a question as to whether it would stay fair or foul. It stayed fair. That's gonna happen with the wind blowing out."

The Lions nearly matched their opponents' hit totals (21-20) but were unable to come up with the extra base hits to get runners across the plate.

Fifth-year senior Leigh Murray was the lone bright spot in the offense. The center fielder accounted for nearly a quarter of her team's hits and three-quarters of its runs, going .555 with 6 RBI and two homers for the weekend.

Murray, who was moved from the five- to the seven-hole in the first game against Purdue, responded to her coach's silent message with a five-RBI day to lead Penn State to its lone victory.

"We moved her right back up because she hit so well," Petrini said.

Even though Penn State's reign atop the Big Ten was short-lived, there is promise in the future. Penn State plays Akron, a team under .500, away on Tuesday before heading home for a 16-game homestand.