If the playoffs were to begin today, Penn State would be out by just one game, but this weekend may allow it to leap-frog several positions in the standings.

This weekend's four-game series with Indiana may be Penn State's best shot to get back into the postseason hunt. The series against the last-place Hoosiers (15-23, 5-11 Big Ten) begins at 3 p.m. today at Beaver Field.

Penn State (14-25, 7-9) has split its last two series and has yet to take three of four. The Nittany Lions sit tied for eighth in the Big Ten standings, one game back from playoff positioning. Indiana is the lone team under Penn State that it has yet to play, so if Penn State is going to take a series, this is the best shot.

And at this point, winning one is almost a necessity, though there's still a month left in the regular season

"Splits just keep us where we are and we can't do that where we are," Penn State baseball coach Robbie Wine said. "We don't wanna stay there. We wanna move. I'm sure Indiana is saying the same thing. ... Every team in the Big Ten is going to say the same thing. That's the reality of it."

Given how tight this race is from top to bottom, this may be Penn State's best time to make a move.

The Lions are arguably playing their best ball of the season. After starting slow with the bats, they've tallied double-digits in the run column in eight of their last 13 games. By comparison, they only reached 10 runs three times in the first month and a half.

The team is in the midst of experiencing just how contagious hitting can be with the recent output.

"It is," Wine said. "You become better hitters with runners on base for a million reasons. Guys have come through."

Pitcher Seth Whitehill appears to have solidified the starting rotation by taking the ball the second game of the Saturday doubleheaders, but the bullpen remains an issue.

It has yet to establish that go-to-guy, although reliever Steve Cline may have earned strides by retiring a number of guys in order against Bucknell on Wednesday.

"Our guys just need to get their confidence back and get out there and do it," Wine said. "Nobody's going to give up on anybody at this point in the season, especially. That's really the only thing we need to work on on the mound."

Penn State may be out of the Big Ten Tournament currently, but the club maintained its relaxed attitude at the start of yesterday's practice. Optimal weather allowed the Lions to get on the field early, with Lance Thompson, Scott Gaffney and Cory Wine, among others, took practice rips.

In this group were Wine, pitching coach Jason Bell, hitting coach Eric Folmar and volunteer assistant coach Zach Cazzelle, all trying to go yard, a battle Wine won rather convincingly, although Bell would probably say it had something to do with the stress fractures in his foot.

"The weather's nice, so we can come out early when guys get a chance after classes and it's relaxing," Wine said. "It gets us a chance to get most of our work done early like this."

By getting their work done this weekend, they might make the stretch run that much easier.