Matt Cavagnaro was adamant about the importance of yesterday's series finale against Minnesota at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

"It's pretty much a must-win game," Penn State's second baseman said Saturday night. "We must win [Sunday]."

Cavagnaro and the rest of the Penn State baseball team never got that opportunity, however, as yesterday's contest was canceled because of inclement weather. There are no plans for a make-up date.

A win yesterday against the Golden Gophers would have given the Nittany Lions the all-important split in the opening weekend of Big Ten schedule. It would have also given them a much-needed boost in confidence just in time for their next two conference series, on the road at Iowa and Michigan State.

Instead, the cancellation nixed all of those potential perks and gave the shortened three-game series to Minnesota, which rallied to win the opener on Friday night, 3-2, and cruised during the second half of Saturday's doubleheader, 9-2.

Penn State managed to scrap out a win in the first half of the doubleheader, 3-2.

Had the Lions (5-15) been able to find a way to kick-start their offense, though, they may have walked away from this weekend with a better attitude and more than a single win.

"Our offense is struggling, and it's tough when an offense is struggling, because everyone keeps pressing and trying harder and harder," Penn State head coach Robbie Wine said, "And that's the worst thing you can do.

"It takes nine guys to win a game, and one guy isn't going to do anything. If everybody starts to do their little piece of the puzzle and do their jobs, then everything will start coming around, but everyone is trying to do everybody else's job."

Not only were the Lions pressing, but they were also having difficulty holding on to the lead. Despite grabbing the edge early in the first two games, they were unable to maintain their advantage.

In Friday's game, Penn State led for seven innings before surrendering three runs in the top of the eighth and ultimately losing. In Saturday's opening game, it lost the lead on two separate occasions before pushing the eventual game-winning run across home plate in the bottom of the fifth.

As for Saturday's second game, the Lions never once had the pleasure of holding the lead of the game as the Gophers (17-6) stormed out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back.

The reason for the lost leads and the theme for all three games?

"As a team, we aren't really hitting well," junior shortstop/pitcher Scott Gaffney said. "There's no rhythm."

When the Lions needed a crucial hit, they simply could not get it. Whether it was a bases-clearing double or a well-placed bunt, they usually came up empty handed and frustrated.

Through the three games, Penn State's inability to produce resulted in just 18 hits - 10 less than Minnesota's total -- and 19 runners left on base.

Wine said that the Lions cannot worry too much about their current struggles. The only thing they can do is look to get their offense back on-track with two mid-week home games against non-conference opponents, beginning tomorrow against Bucknell.

"The more we play, the better it is going to be," Wine said. "There's nothing really you can say or do right now. Screaming and yelling is not going to work. A pat on the butt and a boost of confidence is about all you can do right now other than getting out and getting back on the field."