The Brown & White

The baseball team will travel to University Park this weekend to face the Penn State University Nittany Lions in a triple header starting on Friday.

The Mountain Hawks dropped to 10-9 on the season after losing their past three games, one to Temple University and two to George Washington University.

Head Coach Sean Leary said the Hawks are expecting tough games and a high level of play from the Nittany Lions. He said the team's demanding schedule so far this season will allow the Hawks to bring a competitive game on Friday.

"Our team has played a very challenging schedule thus far and we have been tested by some quality pitchers and hitters," Leary said. "We have been able to secure wins against the ACC and the Big East conferences already this season and I am confident that if we focus on our execution that we will give Penn State a very tough series."

The Hawks' senior pitcher Joe Matteo will aid the team's defense. Matteo, 3-0 this season, recently led the team to its 2-1 victory against George Washington last week.

"[Matteo] was outstanding this past weekend against GW," Leary said. "We will look for him to set the tone for us again this weekend."

The Hawks' second game will start with a new pitcher on the mound as sophomore Greg Angelo makes his first start of the season. As a freshman, Angelo made 13 appearances and started four games with an ERA of 5.73.

Senior center fielder Joe Ercolano is expected to be a major contributor to the Hawks' offense on Friday.

Ercolano leads the team in runs with 17. Last season, Ercolano led the team in both runs, with 36, and in walks, with 20.

Ercolano said he hopes to allow scoring opportunities for both himself and his teammates against the Nittany Lions.

"Personally, I know I need to get on base as much as possible and get myself into scoring position," he said. "When there are guys on base I am going to need to drive them in."

The series will take place at Medlar Field, which was completed in the summer of 2006.

Ercolano said playing on such a nice diamond will give the team an edge mentally over their opponent on Friday.

"For some reason playing in a big stadium on top notch dirt and grass gives us some extra energy when we take the field," he said.

Penn State is 3-10 on the season, and is amidst a six game losing streak.

Ercolano said Lehigh should be able to take advantage of Penn State's low momentum and take home a victory.

"I think Penn State and us should be equally matched, but we have played better than them so far this season," he said. "They have lost their last six games so they seem to be struggling as of late. If we play up to our potential, we should win the series."

The Hawks will begin the triple-header on Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Friday at 3:35 p.m.

The second game will begin at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday and the series finale will be at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday.