Missy Beseres clutched the rosin bag while her blue mouthpiece peeked beneath her lips -- she was smiling, and she couldn't stop.

Maybe it was the result of the crowd singing, "Hey Missy / You're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind." But she couldn't stop laughing on Friday, either.

"It was hard to get my game face back on, but once the mouthpiece goes on, it's pretty hard to split those lips," Beseres said.

The Minnesota native may not have stared down any batters -- at least not with that grin. But she could've put the opposing team up for sale after the sweep because she absolutely owned the Golden Gophers, who practice on a campus less than 10 miles away from her home in Golden Valley.

"It's always nice coming out on top when you play Minnesota 'cause it sucks to go home and hear about how you lost," Beseres said.

Beseres started both games and recorded 19 strikeouts in the process. She also held the Gophers to four hits, three walks and zero runs. She hasn't allowed a run in 22 straight frames.

"She kept them off base, kept getting the leadoff runner out, and she just pitched outstanding," Penn State softball coach Robin Petrini said.

Beseres exited the dugout with an ice pack on her right shoulder. It was nearly as big as her head, but she waved off any concern, smiling and saying, "I'm fine, just getting old. I've been here awhile."

The fifth-year senior was highly recruited by Minnesota but chose Penn State because she "wanted to try being away and be independent."

Beseres' mother, Mary, said her daughter knew she wanted to play in the Big Ten -- it was just a matter of where.

And it didn't hurt that Mary Beseres' older daughter just happened to play for Northwestern under then-assistant coach Petrini, who arrived in Happy Valley just a few years later.

This past weekend, Beseres stepped onto the pitching circle of Nittany Lion Field and stepped off twice as a winner. The humble leader said her success was a result of run support because it allowed her to relax -- she only went three innings where her team didn't have a lead.

Her teammates seemed to notice just how much that helped her mindset, too.

"She's been pitching awesome lately; she just needs a run to build off of and she's fine," first basemen Jenn Reynolds said.

The sweep gives Beseres 47 career wins as she approaches the program record for most career pitching victories. It's been a long ride for Beseres, as this past weekend was simply a travel stop on her way to the record books -- and to the National Pro Fast-pitch League.

Still, Beseres said she would rather concentrate on her collegiate career than look ahead to the Chicago Bandits.

"It's sad that it's coming to an end because it's been like the best time of my life here," she said.