It may only be the second week of the season, but the Penn State softball team has already achieved one of its main goals: win a tournament.

Although there are still plenty of unmarked check boxes left on the way to Super Regionals, Penn State coach Robin Petrini said she was proud of what her team had accomplished.

The Nittany Lions defeated five teams in three days to come out on top in the Lady 'Back Invitational hosted by Arkansas, improving their record to 7-3 and finally getting their bats going after last week's three-loss stint.

"It does a lot to our confidence, it's great to win a preseason tournament," pitcher Missy Beseres said. "Achieving a goal is important because we know that our other goals are attainable."

Another one of those goals is placing within the top three in the Big Ten. The conference season won't start for another few weeks, but the competition was still tough in the non-conference tournament.

Penn State had several tense moments during extra-inning games against both Arkansas and Drake. The Lions managed to keep their cool, though, and won by scores of 4-3 and 2-1, respectively.

"Both of those programs are two quality programs, and the fact we weren't hitting -- I felt our pitching could keep them at bay until we had the chance to score," Petrini said.

And the pitching staff certainly didn't disappoint -- two of the Lions' hurlers tossed no-hitters.

Against North Dakota State yesterday, Jenn Reynolds didn't allow a hit en route to a 7-0 win. Against Missouri State, Beseres lasted 10 innings and picked up 10 strikeouts in the no-hitter.

Still, a humble Beseres refused to take credit for the accomplishment. She said she wasn't even aware of the no-hitter until the sixth inning.

"I have to give it to the defense," she said. "They made a lot of good plays, so I gotta give it to them."

Pitching and defense paced the team as the Lions committed only one error over the weekend. However, Petrini said it was good to see the bats finally get going, too.

Catcher Hollee Haines, for example, turned in a sub-par batting performance last week with a .143 average, but she did a complete 180 this weekend. She even smacked the game-winning sac fly in the opening contest.

The Lions outscored their opponents 20-3 over the weekend. As a matter of fact, every game that went the regulation seven innings was a shutout. Penn State defeated Missouri-Kansas City, 4-0; Missouri State, 4-0 and North Dakota State, 7-0.

"That's huge, especially being the second time out on the dirt," Beseres said. "Our defense has really stepped up, and it's all starting to come together."