By Julie Reis

COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | jgr145@psu.eu

The selections for the NCAA Softball Regionals will be announced in less than a week and a half, but the Penn State softball team is still working to be at ease.

Before the seedings are announced on May 13, the Nittany Lions (24-20, 5-7 Big Ten) have been getting in many meetings with regional opponents that could increase their chances for a decent berth.

The last step for Penn State to make a statement comes today in a non-conference doubleheader against Maryland at 4 p.m. in College Park, Md. Both games will be broadcast on CSTV.

The Terrapins (30-21, 6-11 ACC) play in a competitive conference that boasts No. 20 Georgia Tech, No. 23 Virginia Tech, and No. 25 NC State. Maryland enters today's games 2-6 in-conference, and is coming off an 8-1 loss against the Wolfpack on Sunday.

"[Maryland is] in a good conference, so I expect another dogfight," Penn State coach Robin Petrini said.

For the Lions, last weekend ended with a conference loss of their own against Purdue. Despite the sweep by the Boilermakers, Penn State still straightened out some of its kinks against Indiana earlier in the weekend.

But one of the problems still plaguing the Lions has been their lack of clutch hitting. Getting runners around the bases for runs has been a problem, but against the Hoosiers, the Lions showed what they were capable of offensively.

"When runners are on base, we know we need to get them in," sophomore Kayce Zielinski said. "Collectively, through the lineup, we're very good at doing our part and getting our runners in."

With a rise in their confidence as they enter the last stretch of the season, the Lions are going against a formidable opponent in the Terps. Maryland, which has hit the ball well all year, is third in the ACC in batting average. Senior Amber Jackson is leading the Terps and the entire conference with 20 home runs.

No matter the opponent or what features it brings, the Lions are looking at this game like any other non-conference game. The most important thing is to get games in with the playoffs on the horizon.

"We just need to go out there and be ready to play and win," senior Meghan Wolfer said. "We need to get these wins. They're very important. We want to prove that we're good enough to win these games and advance to Regionals."

Although the confidence is there, the Lions are still coming off of two pitching duels that didn't go their way against Purdue, they're looking forward to erasing the losses and getting back to good results that will help them in the standings.

"They're anxious to get back on the field," Petrini said. "Softball is an up and down game. Sometimes you just have to roll with the downs, and go for the ups."