It took an unlikely candidate for the softball team to win its second straight Lady Lion "Blue" Classic this weekend.

Pitching.

Despite scoring just five runs in its four tournament games, Penn State managed to come away with three victories, holding its opponents to just three unearned runs.

Behind their strongest pitching of the season, the Lady Lions (7-16) shut out Robert Morris and LaSalle on Friday at Lady Lion Field and Colgate on Saturday afternoon on the turf at Holuba Hall.

Assistant coach Beth Perine said the pitching staff has gotten itself into a definite groove by keeping the ball down and controlling pitches.

"The pitchers aren't putting people on -- we have had very few walks in the last six games and everyone is just playing together, with a lot of confidence," Perine said. "When you build confidence, when you gain confidence, you throw better and I think Leigh (Bakun), (Dawn) Hoover and (Kim) Corbin are regaining their confidence and throwing strong -- I'm very, very pleased."

Coach Sue Rankin had nothing but praise for the pitching staff and for Perine following the tournament.

"The credit goes to the staff and also to Beth because she works to get them to play at the level they're at," Rankin said. "I'm glad to get some wins in the win column for those pitchers who are throwing their hearts out."

Hoover, who allowed just five hits in her two starts, picked up two victories in the classic, raising her record to 4-5 on the season.

Against Robert Morris on Friday morning and then against Colgate on Saturday, Hoover pitched complete game shutouts, beating the Lady Colonials, 1-0, in her first game and the Lady Red Raiders, 1-0.

Hoover enjoyed paralleled success in both games. Through five innings in both, she flirted with history, carrying no-hitters into the sixth inning before having them broken up by singles.

"If I ended up getting the no-hitter it'd be great, but I'm just happy that they didn't score any runs and we won the games," Hoover said. "I just concentrated on each pitch and I was able to kinda' keep them off stride with my off-speed stuff."

Combined with her performance last week against St. Francis, Hoover has now pitched 21 consecutive scoreless innings.

"I think Dawn's coming back and throwing the way she has is a credit to her dedication," Perine said. "I can't really say enough about it -- three shutouts in a row is big-time stuff."

Freshman Leigh Bakun (2-5), who has been a pleasant addition to the Penn State pitching staff, sandwiched in a victory between Hoover's shutouts against LaSalle, giving up just four hits en route to a shutout of her own.

"Leigh just threw with confidence -- she threw strong, she threw smart; she really had a rhythm," Perine said. "The balls were breaking just where she wanted them to break and she was keeping it down consistently -- and when you keep the ball down you're going to win a lot of ballgames."