Drawing on motivation from other Michigan athletic teams as well as an injured teammate, the Michigan baseball team will seek to extend its current winning streak to seven.

The Wolverines (4-2 Big Ten, 17-14 overall) will take on Penn State in a three-game series this weekend. The Nittany Lions (0-6, 7-21) have struggled thus far and have been swept in their first two conference series. Earlier this week, though, Penn State defeated Kent State — which made an improbable run to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. last year.

“For us, it’s not really about them, it’s about us,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “We’re going to continue our style of play, and if we play to our potential, and not down to the opponent, then we should be able to take care of baseball.”

The Wolverines’ style of play has been effective as of late, as this current winning streak is the team’s longest since 2010. Michigan started its streak last week by dispatching two opponents in mid-week games before sweeping in-state rival Michigan State. The Wolverines followed that up by defeating No. 18 Notre Dame this past Tuesday, 4-1.

The pitching staff, led by freshman Evan Hill, redshirt junior Logan McAnallen and sophomore Trent Szkutnik, has been a big reason for Michigan’s recent run. The staff has allowed just seven runs over the past six games.

Monday, Hill was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his performance against Michigan State. In eight innings of work, Hill gave up four hits, struck out four and allowed only one unearned run. The award is the third in Hill’s short career — the others coming after his performances against Western Illinois and Saint Louis earlier this year.

“Our entire pitching staff has really pitched terrific, with great tempo and just pounding the zone,” Bakich said. “And a big part of it is having Pat Biondi back in the lineup. He is a jackrabbit in centerfield and he catches everything.”

While Michigan got Biondi, a senior, back from injury, the Wolverines lost fellow senior Ben Ballantine to an ankle injury sustained last week. A member of the team’s leadership council, Ballantine was a starter for Michigan and had a 2.62 earned-run average in seven games. Ballantine underwent season-ending surgery on his ankle Tuesday. Although Ballantine was unable to attend Tuesday’s game, he was still represented by teammates, who hung his jersey up in the dugout during the game.

“Ben Ballantine’s injury has meant a lot to this group,” Bakich said. “They are really motivated to make sure we continue to play our butts off and do it for Ben.”

Without Ballantine, Michigan will likely stick with a three-man rotation consisting of all left-handers. Out of the bullpen, the Wolverines will continue to utilize senior right-hander Kyle Clark, sophomore right-hander Matt Ogden and freshman right-hander Jacob Cronenworth as they have all season.

The Nittany Lions have some offensive weapons with the potential to hurt the Wolverines. Penn State’s top three hitters are batting above .300 and have gap power. The three hitters, all righties, have matchup advantages against Michigan’s lefty pitchers.

Another key for Michigan will be continuing to get off to good starts offensively. In four of the games in the winning streak, the Wolverines have taken the early lead by scoring in the first inning.

Twice against Michigan State, the Wolverines rode momentum from first-inning runs en route to victories.

“(Freshman infielder Travis) Maezes leads off the Saturday game with a triple, and he’s fired up, he almost knocks me out when he slides in because he’s so fired up,” said Bakich, who is also the third-base coach. “In game three, (sophomore outfielder) Zach Zott hits a two-out, two-run absolute bomb for two runs in the first inning.”

Zott has wielded a hot bat recently for the Wolverines. In eight of his last 11 games, he has had at least two hits. On the season, he carries a .329 average with a .447 slugging percentage.

Forcing Penn State to use its bullpen will be an important factor this weekend. Opponents have scored a majority of their runs against the Nittany Lions in the later innings when their starters are no longer in the game.

On Friday, Michigan will face redshirt sophomore T.J. Jann, who has appeared in seven games this year and has held opposing teams to a batting average of .235.