The record may not indicate it, but this weekend's trip to the Aggie Invitational was a successful one for the Nittany Lion softball team.

"It was a great outing for our first trip out," coach Robin Petrini said.

The Nittany Lions came out of the 3-day tournament with a 2-4 record, recording wins against Texas A&M and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

The team opened up the tournament on Friday with a split, taking a win from the Aggies and losing to Corpus Christi. Saturday saw the Lions drop two games, one to Alabama and one to Texas A&M.

The team wrapped up the tournament on Sunday the way it came in, by winning one game and losing another. The win came against Corpus Christi and the loss to Alabama.

Four losses may seem like a lot, but it takes a closer look at those losses to see why they are encouraging.

In three of the four losses, the team only lost by one run. Two of those games came against the No. 5 team in the country, Alabama.

The lone loss that was not by one run came in extra innings against Texas A&M, a team that had received votes in the preseason top 25 poll.

In that game against the Aggies freshman Marisa Hanson pitched nine scoreless innings in her first collegiate start.

"She did a great job," Petrini said. "I can't say enough about the pitchers. They did outstanding."

The pitching was a bright spot for the team during the tournament. With many questioning if the team could recover from the loss of its top-two pitchers from last season, the staff came out and showed the critics that it could.

The staff never let up more than four runs in any game. They posted one shutout and one two-run game.

They also kept the team in close games throughout the tournament, which should come in handy as it continues with its season.

"It helps as the season goes on, but it is hard in the beginning because you get a few losses," Petrini said.

To go along with the close games the Lions are also encouraged by the fact that their opponents have played already, while they have not.

"We played everyone tough," Petrini said. "They had a few outings already. If we had two or three outings under our belts the outcome could have been different."

Not everything in the tournament was positive. Center Fielder Gina Bianchini injured her wrist in the second game against the Aggies and missed the remainder of the tournament. Bianchini was an impressive 5-for-7 on the first day of play and was a force at the top of the lineup.

The extent of the injury and the time Bianchini will miss will be determined early this week. Petrini says that the injury means that other players will have to come through for the team.

"It means other people need to step up," Petrini said.

After all the close games in their opening tournament it appears that that if others do step up, the Nittany Lions will be back to their winning ways of last season.