UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.--With bats that show no sign of slowing down, Penn State used a four-game sweep of Michigan to raise its team batting average to .3536 and currently leads all NCAA Division I schools. The NCAA compiles national statistics and releases them every Tuesday during the regular season.

The Lions have bounced between second and third over the past month, but hit .357 (41-for-115) against the Wolverines to raise its average enough to edge out Stony Brook (.3534) for the top spot. Rutgers (.3494), LSU (.3434) and Nevada (.3414) round out the top five teams.

It's not just the bats that are getting it done for the Lions, where the defense is fielding .973 to rank fourth only behind Houston (.977), Pepperdine (.976) and California (.974). They are also ranked eighth in scoring (9.27 runs per game) and third by winning percentage (.795).

Penn State also has three individuals ranked a total of four times. Senior left fielder Michael Campo (Absecon, N.J.), who is in the midst of a Penn State record 23-game hitting streak, is ranked fifth in the nation with a .448 batting average.

Senior third baseman Shawn Fagan (Levittown, N.Y.) is ranked in two offensive categories. His 410 batting average ranks 43rd in the country, while his 1.50 RBIs per game is sixth.

Sophomore Chris Wright (State College, Pa.) is also ranked among the doubles leaders. His .50 doubles per game is tied for fourth with Wagner's Mike Cerminaro and St. Bonaventure's Jason Milleisen.

A complete listing of the Division I stats can be found by logging onto the internet at www.ncaa.org.

At 35-9 overall and 15-4 in the Big Ten, the Lions are currently atop the conference standing and lead second-place Minnesota by only a 1/2 game. They will close out their regular-season home schedule against Ohio State this weekend. Because of final exams, the four-game series will run Saturday through Monday. Saturday's opener starts at 3 p.m., while both Sunday's doubleheader and Monday's finale will begin at 1 p.m.