MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (May 25, 2004) - The Penn State baseball team will be shooting for its first Big Ten Tournament title when the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions open the conference tournament with a first round game versus No. 3 Michigan 3:35 p.m. Wednesday at Siebert Field on the campus of Minnesota.

All of Penn State¨ªs games from the tournament will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio WMAJ 1450 AM and a link to listen to Pat Boland¨ªs play-by-play will be available at www.GoPSUsports.com.

Penn State finished the regular season with a 28-27 overall mark and a 17-15 record in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions dropped three of four in their final weekend of the season at Michigan, but they won the final game of the series to head into the tournament on a winning note.

Sophomore Sean Stidfole (New Bloomfield, Pa.) will take on Wolverines ace Paul Hammond (5-1, 4.03 ERA). Stidfole is 6-4 on the season with 82 strikeouts and a 4.00 ERA in 69.2 innings. He led Penn State in wins, strikeouts and complete games (3).

The Nittany Lions own an all-time Big Ten Tournament mark of 2-1 against Michigan. Penn State is 9-10 in five conference tournament appearances.

Number 4 seed Michigan State will take on No. 5 Purdue in the tournament¨ªs opening game at 12:05 p.m. Wednesday. No. 1 Minnesota, which is hosting the tournament for the third straight season, and No. 2 Ohio State receive first round byes. If the Nittany Lions win their opening round game, they would face the Golden Gophers at 7:05 p.m. Thursday.

A loss would put Penn State into an elimination game with the loser of the Michigan State/Purdue contest at 12:05 p.m. Thursday.

The Nittany Lions made a remarkable run through the tournament in 2003, when they finished third. Penn State won its opening round game versus Northwestern, but then lost to No. 1 seed Minnesota before coming back to eliminate Indiana and Michigan. The Nittany Lions eventually lost to Ohio State for a chance to play in the championship game. The Buckeyes battled back in the championship games to defeat Minnesota twice for their second straight tournament title and NCAA Tournament automatic bid.

For more information on Penn State baseball, please visit the official athletic website at www.GoPSUsports.com.