It happened again for the Penn State softball team during this past weekend's sweep of Wisconsin. The Badger pitchers navigated their way through the heart of the Nittany Lion batting order unscathed.

Then, in each game, Penn State's No. 9 hitter Shana Madura led off the fifth inning with base hits. Madura eventually scored the Lions' initial runs in each contest, which jump-started Penn State scoring barrages and fueled Lion victories.

Scoring runs from the bottom of the batting order has strengthened the entire Lion lineup and made them an overall better team, head coach Robin Petrini said.

"The way we've been playing all year, we're very aggressive at the plate and we're going after it," Petrini said. "If you look up and down our lineup, a lot of people put the ball in play and make things happen."

Not only does Penn State put the ball in play, the batters are racking up hits at a torrid pace. The Lions -- averaging 8.4 hits per game -- are on track to break the school record for hits in a season set in 2000.

With the entire lineup producing -- seven batters are hitting better than .300 -- Penn State ranks third in the Big Ten with a .308 team batting average.

But the statistics do not show the Lions' ability to get hits in key situations. Every Penn State starter has either scored or driven in a run that put the Lions ahead in a close game.

"Everybody is clutch at different times," Petrini said. "We've had a lot of people coming up when they need to and fortunately, when we swing the bat we make it count."

The Lions' infectious hitting has created even more havoc for opposing pitchers. When one player has gotten a hit, more often than not, her teammates have joined the offensive outpouring. Penn State has scored runs in bunches. The Lions have plated more than three runs in an inning during 12 games this year.

These rallies have allowed the Lions to gain momentum and confidence in the batter's box. If Penn State can maintain its current level of hitting, its goal of a Big Ten title is possible.

And with a series against No. 10 Michigan this weekend, the Lions' offense needs to be clicking from the first inning on. Petrini said the most difficult task for her team is scoring the first run. Once that happens, she said, the offense flows and runs pour in.

"We know if we get [that first] one, we're going to get a couple more after that," Petrini said. "I told the girls, it doesn't have to be pretty, but if you put it in play we can generate some runs off of it. Once we get that first run, then everybody can start swinging their bats like they know how."