There's a 50-50 chance of getting some luck on your side or not. The Penn State softball team finds itself on the latter of that statement.

After a few weeks of practice, the Nittany Lions will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to compete in this year's Carolina Classic. Penn State will play four games this weekend, starting at 10 a.m. today against SEC powerhouse Tennessee.

It will be the first meeting between the two teams, and the first time the Lions have met an SEC opponent in their home opener.

Penn State has not won its first game since 2002, and facing one of the best teams in the country is not something the team would have hoped for this season. However, the team is still confident that it can put on a strong showing against the No. 2 Lady Vols.

The Lions will continue the tournament with games against No. 22 NC State, Eastern Carolina, and UNC, but the biggest challenge will arguably be their first opponent.

"They just happened to be scheduled," Penn State coach Robin Petrini said. "It's the luck of the draw when you go to tournaments, and Tennessee just happens to be going there. It's a great opportunity for us to just get out and play, and we're looking forward to it."

One of Tennessee's most dangerous weapons is senior pitcher Monica Abbott, who finished 44-10 last season with an ERA of 0.95. Although there is a possibility Abbott will not be in the circle against the Lions, Petrini feels her team will handle whichever pitcher it faces.

On the Lions' side, pitching will be the position with the biggest change from last season. With the graduation of 2006 team MVP Missy Beseres, the Lions lost one of their strongest assets from last year's 39-17 campaign.

The pitching staff will now be lead by juniors Ashley Esparza and Jenn Reynolds, who both provided solid performances last year.

Last year, Reynolds went 10-3 with an ERA of 1.31, and Esparza had a 10-5 record and 1.29 ERA while leading the team in batting average and home runs.

"Our pitchers will see plenty of opportunities," Petrini said.

"The season is a marathon, not a sprint. We have our two junior returners that we expect to go out and perform."

In the field, the Lions will return most of last year's starters including second-team All-Great Lakes selection Jen Acunto. Acunto garnered the defensive MVP award last season, committing only five errors in 56 games.

Two of this year's seniors, Jen Williams and Meghan Wolfer, will anchor the experienced outfield, which only lost one starter.

Due to all of the returning starters, the lineup for this weekend will be lead by last year's regulars, but Petrini will be looking for how her freshmen will step up.

"We'll see what happens when we get down there," Petrini said. "We have a veteran team, and that's what we're going to go with, our experience."