The softball team entered Atlantic-10 competition on a positive note by sweeping Temple and St. Joseph's this weekend to improve to 13-16 overall and 4-0 in conference play.

"Things are starting to click a little bit," Coach Sue Rankin said. "And that's obviously a good sign.

"We hit well throughout the lineup. If one person didn't get the job done, the next person came through. We were down 2-0 in the first game today and we came back and scored four runs. Those are very positive signs to me. They're playing with a lot of confidence."

Another positive sign is the offensive explosion of Joyce Tinner, who went 8-for-15 over the weekend with two triples and a double.

"I went in Friday for extra hitting, so I owe a lot of it to the extra time with the coaches," Tinner said.

The Lady Lions began the weekend with a 3-2 extra-inning defeat of Temple on Saturday.

With the score knotted at two at the end of seven innings, Denise Oswald led off the eighth with a double. After Tinner (2-for-4) bounced back to the mound, Oswald advanced to third on a wild pitch by Cindy Dempsey with Dawn Hoover at the plate. Hoover eventually walked, and Oswald came home with the winning run when Dempsey uncorked another wild pitch.

Hoover pitched a complete game, allowing just three hits, to boost her record to 6-5.

Penn State opened the scoring in the second inning when Hoover doubled, moved to third on a fielder's choice by Kellie Goodman, and came home when Amy Tortorella stroked a single to left center.

The Lady Lions added another run in the sixth on a double by Tinner and an RBI single by Kim Corbin (2-for-3).

Sloppy defensive play allowed Temple to tie the score in the bottom of the sixth. Denise Sarno reached second on an error by Ellie Traino to open the inning. Following a strikeout, Judith O'Brien singled to center. Oswald bobbled the ball, allowing Sarno to score. On the throw home, O'Brien went to second and tried for third. Marie Hawkins attempted to get O'Brien out at third, but the throw hit O'Brien and she came around to make the score 2-2.

The Lady Lions used a three-run fourth inning to earn a 5-3 victory over Temple in the second game. Goodman (2-for-4) singled with one out and moved to third on a fielder's choice by Tortorella and a force out by Amy Myers. Marie Hawkins singled home Goodman, and Traino brought Myers and Hawkins home with a single to right.

Penn State and Temple both scored in the first inning. The Lady Owls added runs in the fourth and fifth innings to come within one, 4-3, but Kim Corbin's RBI single in the seventh put the game out of reach.

Freshman Leigh Bakun (2-5) scattered six hits to earn the win.

"The pitchers did a great job," Rankin said. "They came through in situations against Temple where, if we needed a strikeout, they got a strikeout."

"We believe in ourselves and know we're good," Tinner added. "We haven't swept Temple in years, so that was a big game for us on Saturday."

St. Joe's, coming off a marathon 23-inning doubleheader against St. Bonaventure, bowed to Penn State, 6-1 and 6-2 yesterday.

Corbin (3-5) notched the victory in the first game, yielding six hits and no earned runs. She helped her cause at the plate by going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

The Lady Lions exploded for three runs in both the first and fourth innings. In the first inning, Tinner (3-for-4) singled with two outs and moved to second on a passed ball. After Hoover reached on an error, Corbin singled Tinner home, and Goodman (2-for-3) followed with a two-run double.

Tinner tripled in a run in the fourth inning and came home on a sacrifice fly by Hoover. Goodman brought in Hoover with a single.

In the nightcap, Hoover earned her seventh victory of the year and her second of the weekend.

Penn State used a four-run second inning to put the game away early. Corbin led off with a double and Goodman reached on an error. Amy Tortorella followed with a single to bring in Corbin. Amy Myers (three sacrifices) executed a suicide squeeze to score Goodman, but the third baseman misplayed the ball, enabling Tortorella to score and Myers to reach base. Hawkins dropped down a bunt and also reached on an error, allowing Myers to come across.

Tinner walked with the bases loaded and Hoover followed with a single in the fourth inning to end the scoring for Penn State.

St. Joe's jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first with three hits and a sacrifice.