Ever since it emphatically wrapped up its first Big Ten series win since the 2005 season on Monday, the Penn State baseball team has been brewing some big plans.

Sophomore outfielder Scott Kelley said if everything goes well this week, the Nittany Lions could really start rolling in conference play.

But the Lions have a few more days before they'll return to Big Ten action against Northwestern, so they can at least get things rolling in the right direction with a win against Mount Saint Mary's at 6:35 tonight at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

Tonight's contest will be the first of six consecutive home games for Penn State.

It will also be the eighth meeting ever between two schools that began playing against each other way back in 1897. The Lions, who hold a 5-1-1 edge in one of their oldest series, last met the Mount in 1905.

If Penn State (12-18, 5-5 Big Ten) is to renew the series that has been dormant for 102 years with a win, it will do so with a 19-year-old pitcher on the mound.

Freshman Kayle Sickler is scheduled to make his collegiate debut tonight as the Lions' starting pitcher.

Sickler, a native of Troy, was a four-year letterwinner on the Troy High School baseball team and led the Trojans to a 17-5 mark in his senior season.

The right-handed hurler earned honors as a member of the 2005 Pennsylvania All-East team and as a four-time selection to NTL first team. He was also a four-time Baseball Factory All-American and named to the Perfect Game's Top 40 Players in the Northeast United States.

"It's a great opportunity for him," head coach Robbie Wine said.

Sickler's first career start has a very good chance of becoming his first career win if the Lions continue their recent dominance at home during mid-week games.

So far this season, Penn State has served as host for three midweek games and has been victorious in all of them.

In those three home games, the Lions have averaged nearly 10 runs per game, which is well above their season average of 4.1. Meanwhile, their opponents -- Bucknell, Kent State and Temple -- have mustered an average of just more than five runs per game.

A win tonight would not only keep the Lions perfect at home in the middle of the week, but also it could go a long way for them in the confidence department.

After taking three of four games at Michigan State this past weekend, Penn State would like more than anything to keep its winning ways on track. In order to do so, according to senior outfielder Brian Ernst, the Lions will need to recognize the pitfalls and "treat every game like we're playing the top team in the country."

"When you go into midweek games like this one without focus and you just kind of take the team for granted, that's how you lose some games," Ernst said. "What we need to do is carry the momentum from this past weekend series into tonight's game, and we'll be fine."