It's the simple pleasures in life -- such as a few extra hours of shut-eye and none of the hassle associated with travel -- that have the Penn State softball team excited to finally be back at home.

When the Nittany Lions (12-12) take on St. Francis (Pa.) in a doubleheader at 6 tonight at Nittany Field, they will be making their first home start of the month-and-a-half-old season.

"It's the same game, the same everything," junior Ashley Esparza said. "But, we get to sleep in and have some of our own fans for once, which is always nice."

Welcoming the Lions home will be a pesky Red Flash team (8-16) that Penn State head coach Robin Petrini called "tough."

She warned St. Francis' less-than-stellar record can be misleading. The Red Flash's ace pitcher, Laura Caldwell, can give her team a legitimate chance to win every time out.

A Bellefonte native, Caldwell has twice been named Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Week and has picked up six of St. Francis' eight wins on the year. Her 63 strikeouts also lead the conference.

"She's very talented," Petrini said. "She brings a lot to the table and keeps them in a lot of games and wins a lot of games for them. So when she's on the mound, they're tough. So we'll have to get to her and go from there."

To get to Caldwell, the Lions have plenty of offensive options.

Petrini said although sophomore Danielle Kinley and freshman Ashley Griffith may be leading the Lions in the stat book, the lineup's depth has shone during the past few weeks on the road.

"We've been hitting the ball very well," Petrini said. "We've been getting a lot of hitting consistently throughout the lineup. Being able to get back to the top of the order is key, and we've gotten a lot of production doing a lot of things, like squeezing."

Though it may be difficult coming off of wins against two top-10 teams, Esparza said she and her teammates know not to take small-school St. Francis lightly, even if Penn State is 22-0 all-time against the Red Flash.

"They almost beat us last year," Esparza said. "They're always good, so we have to treat them like anyone else."

Last season, the Lions needed a run in the bottom of the sixth to escape with a 2-1 victory over Caldwell. And in the nightcap, the Red Flash kept it close before a Hollee Haines three-run home run sealed a 5-1 Penn State win.

Opposing Caldwell in the circle will be the Lions usual pitcher-by-committee. Petrini said Esparza and junior Jenn Reynolds will continue to relieve each other but said she hopes they can start registering complete games.

"They've had a lot of opportunities, and they're getting stronger," Petrini said.

"So they should start finishing their own games."

Whether it's a complete-game shutout or a multi-pitcher slugfest, Penn State has one thing in mind when it takes the field tonight -- win. Being at home will be a new feeling for the Lions and considering they only have 16 home games this spring, they want to make the most of their limited time in Happy Valley.

"We want to win every home game we've got this year," Esparza said. "And since there aren't that many, we've got to start right away."