It's not too often that a team 17 games deep into a schedule can look forward to a fresh start.

But when the Penn State baseball team (4-13) takes the field at 6:35 tonight at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park against Minnesota for its first Big Ten weekend series of the season, the Nittany Lions will have the opportunity to start anew. The four-game series will feature a doubleheader tomorrow.

Though the Golden Gophers (15-5) can boast three wins against top 20 teams and are riding a five-game winning streak, Penn State believes its win against then-No. 1 North Carolina proves it can hang with any program in the country.

"You just gotta stick to your game plan of getting ahead," junior shortstop/pitcher Scott Gaffney said. "You're not gonna go out there and go 4-for-4 every game. ... You gotta be ready to battle."

Gaffney will have the interesting perspective of looking at the Gophers from both sides of the plate. He's the regular starting shortstop, but will take the hill for the series finale on Sunday.

As a pitcher, he will be given the dubious distinction of facing one of the nation's best contact-hitting teams. Minnesota posts a team batting average of .292, 41 points stronger than that of Penn State. The Gophers have also struck out just 134 times, one less than the Lions, although they've played in three less games.

With a grueling four-game series, Penn State must avoid going to the bullpen in the early innings to keep arms fresh.

"Four pitches per hitter is our goal," head coach Robbie Wine said. "If a pitcher's throwing strikes early in the count, he can force the offense to swing the bat. ... It's all about tempo, and the pitcher dictates the tempo of the game."

Luckily for the Lions, left-handed senior Craig Clark (1-2) will man the mound tonight. In last Friday's contest against Central Connecticut State, Clark took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Penn State will also be looking for another strong performance from righty Seth Whitehill (1-3 who broke out of a season-long slump with six scoreless innings on Saturday.

Penn State hitters will face a balanced staff anchored by junior right hander Ethan Vogt (1-1) on Friday. Vogt's 1.80 ERA and 5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio are tops on the Gopher roster.

"They're going to be the same team if they are two runs up, 10 runs up or two runs down," sophomore first baseman Cory Wine said. "We need to stay on them, even if we're up."

Penn State knows that out-of-conference record means nothing when seeding for the Big Ten tournament comes around. A strong conference performance could ensure an extended campaign in 2007.

"Our ultimate goal is a regional and [the College World Series], but there's a lot of games to be won in between now and then," Robbie Wine said. "Just take one game at a time, and not look ahead, but in reality we have to look at the whole schedule."