The offensive outbursts in the past prove what the Penn State softball team is capable of when it is focused.

The importance of remaining focused and relaxed will be tested tonight when the Nittany Lions (21-17, 3-5 Big Ten) take on Bucknell at 6:30 tonight for a doubleheader at Nittany Lion Field.

Penn State is coming off a weekend where runs were hard to come by when it needed them the most. On the road against Big Ten foes, Iowa and Illinois, the Lions dealt with pitching duels, blowouts and blown leads.

The Lions were lacking the run support and clutch hitting, which led to four losses and a quick drop in the Big Ten standings. The Hawkeyes and Fighting Illini combined to outscore the Lions 19-8 and outhit them, 33-23.

It was a weekend where the Lions just couldn't get it together. McIntyre said that even the Lions' power hitter Ashley Esparza, was one of the many victims of key defensive plays. Although she didn't record any hits on Sunday, Esparza hit two hard line drives that landed in the backs of gloves in a hurry.

"We hit a lot of hard balls and hit them right at people," assistant coach Jen McIntyre said. "We just couldn't really catch a break. We were playing a lot of "at 'em" ballers. We were hitting the balls right at them, and they made a lot of defensive plays when they needed to."

The problem wasn't in the muscle of the team, as the problem lied the minds of the athletes, McIntyre said. The Lions were given yesterday off in hopes they will find better accuracy tonight against the Bison (10-28, 4-8 Patriot League).

"At this point, we're just going to come out swinging," McIntyre said. "We're going to play a little more relaxed at the plate and just stand in there and take our cuts. Some of them are putting a little too much pressure on themselves.

"They just need to relax, keep swinging like they are and get after it."

As with the past two weeks, Penn State will utilize midweek non-conference games to prepare for the more heavily weighted conference games. This week, Penn State will play host to four midweek games capped off with another doubleheader tomorrow against Akron.

Although they aren't in the Big Ten, the Bison will be a decent test for a Lion squad that is looking to get back on track. With the players maybe pressing too hard, tonight's meeting will give them an opportunity to get in the right mindset and bring luck back on their side.

"Bucknell is a good team, and they're playing well this year," McIntyre said. "We just need to go after them, look at the one game in front of us and go from there."