Nobody said it was going to be pretty -- and even though it wasn't, the softball team still managed to patch its holes up enough to win two more games.
With its first Atlantic-10 action of the season slated for tomorrow, Penn State (9-16) overcame an onslaught of errors and a sluggish offense to sweep a doubleheader from Division II Lock Haven yesterday afternoon at Lady Lion Field.
Behind yet another solid performance from its pitching staff, Penn State defeated the Lady Bald Eagles, 3-1 and 4-3, despite committing nine errors on the afternoon.
With the victories, the Lady Lions have now won seven of their last eight games.
Although Penn State stranded 12 runners on base in the first game, Coach Sue Rankin said she was pleased with the Lady Lions' offensive performance and clutch hitting throughout the lineup.
"Joyce (Tinner) was struggling a little at the plate early, but everyone else pulled through and came around and played much better," Rankin said. "Everybody hit -- it wasn't just one person, it was a real team effort all the way around.
"We're getting runners on base now, and we were able to threaten every inning and rally with two outs; so despite leaving people on base we were still able to come up with some timely hits," Rankin added.
In the first game, starter Kim Corbin carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Lock Haven's Jen Horner broke it up with a one-out single. Corbin, who is still fighting a nagging injury to her sternoclabicular joint, hung on for the 3-1 victory despite giving up a seventh-inning run.
The no-hitter taken into the sixth inning by Corbin marks the third one in the past week Penn State pitchers have carried into the sixth before losing it. Dawn Hoover, who was named A-10 Pitcher of the Week, had two no-hitters broken up with one out in the sixth inning in last weekend's Lady Lion "Blue" Classic.
"When the offense is not coming through as consistently as it should be, it adds a lot of pressure to the pitching staff," assistant coach Beth Perine said. "But they're doing a good job and coming through for us."
In game two, Hoover evened her record on the season at 5-5 with a five-hit victory over the Lady Bald Eagles (7-7).
Penn State got all the offense it needed in the game when right fielder Amy Myers, who knocked in three runs in the Lady Lions' 4-3 victory, came up with a clutch two-run triple in the fourth inning.
Senior co-captain Kellie Goodman, who finished the afternoon with three singles, two walks and a run scored, said the offense is something the team has been working on and will need to improve this weekend.
"We definitely struggled getting runs across the plate -- case in point, I was on base five times, but only scored once," Goodman said. "I think we hit well but not when runners were in scoring position and we're going to need to do better this weekend because all these A-10 games are crucial."
With the Lock Haven sweep behind it, Penn State begins the toughest part of its schedule tomorrow afternoon in Philadelphia. The Lady Lions take on cross-state rival and defending conference co-champion Temple in a set of two tomorrow, and then face A-10 opponent St. Joseph's on Sunday.
"Every game we go in to we look for a win, so if I had to say what I was looking for right now, I want to take home four games this weekend," Rankin said, "And that's realistic -- that's not overstepping our boundaries, and as long as we go after it one game at a time, we should be all right."
