The Penn State baseball team ventured to Louisiana last February to open its season against Tulane, and returned home on the wrong side of three lopsided results.

This weekend, the Nittany Lions will hope for a much better reception from the Bayou State as they gladly play their first four games of the new year.

"We're really excited," senior infielder Matt Cavagnaro said. "We've been practicing and scrimmaging against each other so much that we're kind of getting stir crazy. We just want to play other teams now."

Penn State's oldest intercollegiate sport will get that opportunity when it commences its 133rd season today with a doubleheader beginning against Kansas State at 5 this afternoon and concluding against Centenary at 8 tonight. The Lions will have a rematch with the KSU Wildcats at 4 tomorrow afternoon and the Centenary Gents (3-3) at 11 Sunday morning.

The weekend's slate of games will not only allow Penn State to play against a team not wearing blue and white, but also will be a welcomed reprieve from the Multi-sport Facility, where it has been cooped up for the past few months because of inclement weather.

Yet, despite the desire to finally be outside, Penn State head coach Robbie Wine would like to see his team play as if it was still stuck indoors.

"If they just continue what they're doing in practices and scrimmages, we're going to win some games," said Wine, who is entering his third season with the Lions after departing Oklahoma State.

Wine said his team has focused on the fundamentals this off-season and has done the little things such as moving runners, making routine plays and throwing strikes during practice that have made him feel "cautiously optimistic."

"They've been showing me what they can do," Wine said. "Now, can they do that against somebody in a different uniform? That's what we want to see."

Although they have never faced Centenary and have only played Kansas State twice, the Lions know that this weekend's opponents will be tough tests, but good indicators of the kinds of teams they will face down the road.

The Gents, who are coming off of a 23-30 campaign in 2006, have already played six games this season, which has eradicated any "opening day jitters," according to Wine. Also, they are consistently near the top of the Mid-Continent Conference with Oral Roberts, which will serve as host to Penn State in mid March.

As for the Wildcats, who were 31-20-2 overall last year but 8-17-2 in conference play, they hail from the ever-competitive Big 12, but Wine notes that they remind him more of the competition that his team will face in the Big Ten.

"They put the ball in play. They're not going to beat themselves; they're going to throw strikes and compete," Wine said. "Kansas State is a Big Ten team."

Last season, the Lions' opening weekend sweep at the hands of the Green Wave resulted from a lackluster pitching performance. But with the pitching staff twice as deep this year, according to Wine, Penn State's rotation should complement the lineup's firepower and help achieve the team's goal.

"We're not here to lose," Cavagnaro said. "We're going to take care of our own business and hopefully come back with four wins. We're just ready to go down south and win."