With three days of games against five teams either currently ranked or ranked at one time this season, the Penn State softball team entered the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., as an underdog.

But the Lions (12-12) more than held their own in the stacked field, as they went 3-2 over the weekend and qualified for the tournament's championship bracket.

"We're getting offensive production from different people. Our hitting was outstanding, and our defense was solid," Penn State head coach Robin Petrini said. "It was just a great team effort."

The Lions rode the hot bats of sophomore Danielle Kinley and freshman Ashley Griffith to match up against No. 17 Louisiana-Lafayette (28-7) in the first round of championship play.

Griffith led Penn State with a .450 average and seven runs scored during the tournament. And driving Griffith home a majority of the time was Kinley, who batted .438 with a team-high seven RBI for the weekend.

"Danielle Kinley is just unbelievable. She's playing great softball right now," Petrini said. "And Ashley Griffith is doing great things as well."

But against the Ragin' Cajuns, the Lion offense came up short. Kinley and teammate Jenn Reynolds both hit fourth inning home runs but were outdone by Louisiana-Lafayette's Holly Tankersley. The Ragin' Cajun slugger belted bookend two-run shots in her first and last at-bats as Louisiana-Lafayette won 6-5.

Relegated to the consolation bracket after the loss to the Ragin' Cajuns, Penn State went up against Big Ten rival No. 9 Michigan (23-3).

Against the Wolverines, it was more Griffith and Kinley. The duo combined to go 6-for-8 with two runs scored and two RBI in the 5-2 win.

The victory against Michigan was Penn State's second win over a top-10 team in two days.

On Saturday, the Lions downed No. 8 Texas (23-5), 6-5, behind a 3-for-7 outing from Kinley and Griffith. Twice, Kinley drove Griffith home, including the game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth.

While the duo provided much of the offense, junior Ashley Esparza did most of the work in the circle. Esparza posted a 3-2 record with 22 strikeouts and a 2.66 ERA during the tournament.

Though the Lions dropped two games at the classic, they were still able to get their record back to .500. And, they proved they can play with -- and beat -- some of the best.

"We played great," Petrini said. "It was a great weekend for us."