LITTLE RIVER, S.C. – The Penn State Altoona softball team picked up the first wins of its spring break trip on Sunday, when the Lions defeated Keystone College and New Jersey City University in a pair of games at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex.

Penn State Altoona (3-3) totaled 22 runs in its two wins, defeating Keystone 11-3 in game one and topping NJCU 11-6 in the second game.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 11, Keystone 3 (Final/6 innings)

Penn State Altoona got its first win of the Myrtle trip with a commanding victory over Keystone (0-1), scoring 11 runs on 12 hits.

Karli Storm (Chest Springs, PA/Cambria Heights) finished a single shy of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with a double, a triple, and an inside-the-park home run. The senior finished with six runs batted in, two runs scored, and a walk.

Gracie Wilt (Altoona, PA/Altoona) was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, and Olivia Werkheiser (Easton, PA/Wilson Area) was 2-for-2 with two runs scored, an RBI, and a stolen base.

Josselyn Nau (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) picked up her second win of the season in another complete game pitching effort for the Lions. In six innings, the right-hander limited Keystone to just one earned run while striking out five batters.

After a scoreless first, Penn State Altoona got six runs across in the bottom of the second. Kara Lansberry's (Williamsburg, PA/Williamsburg Community) RBI double got the Lions on the board, Allison Beeman's (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) run-scoring groundout made it 2-0, and Werkheiser followed with an RBI single to give her team a three-run advantage. Later in the frame, Storm delivered a two-run double to left center and Riley Best (Coalport, PA/Glendale) drove her in with a triple to right center.

Penn State Altoona boosted its lead to double digits in the third. Wilt's RBI single to center made it 7-0, before Storm's bases-clearing triple to right center brought home three more runs to increase the Lions' lead to 10-0.

The Giants got on the board in the top of the fifth, thanks to a two-run double from Briana Aponte and an RBI single from Krista Cortazar.

But Penn State Altoona activated the eight-run rule in the sixth inning, when Storm led off with an inside-the-park home run to right field, clinching an 11-3 victory for the Lions.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 11, New Jersey City 6

The Lions took control of the game early, putting eight runs on the board in the top of the first and eventually prevailing by five. Penn State Altoona combined to hit four triples in the win, setting a new program single-game record for the most triples in a contest.

Beeman and Best both had 4-for-4 showings at the plate for Penn State Altoona. Beeman also had a run and an RBI, and Best had two doubles, three runs scored, and one RBI. Madison Kennedy (Williamsburg, PA/Central) hit 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, two runs scored, and one RBI. Alexa Baney (Snow Shoe, PA/Bald Eagle) was 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored, and two RBI.

Best notched her first win of the season in the pitching circle, getting the start and going three innings and allowing one earned run while striking out two. Kennedy followed with three innings in relief, and Nau tossed the last inning to finish off the victory.

Penn State Altoona stormed out to an eight-run lead in the top of the first inning. Best's RBI single to left got things started, before Lansberry drove in a pair with a base hit up the middle after that. Wilt's RBI triple to left center and Kennedy's RBI single to right made it 5-0, and back-to-back RBI triples from Baney and Davidson increased the advantage to 8-0.

NJCU got a run on the board in the bottom half of the first inning when Danika Borza drew a bases-loaded walk. But the Lions got that run right back in the top of the second, after Best led off with a double and scored on an outfield error in the next play.

The Gothic Knights made it 9-2 in the third, using a Jennie Carmona RBI single up the middle to trim Penn State Altoona's lead to seven. NJCU tightened things further with a three-run fifth, using another Carmona RBI single and a Natalie Rosales two-run triple to close the gap to 9-5.

The Lions added a run to their total in the top of the sixth on an RBI single to center by Lansberry, and Beeman's RBI single to right center in the seventh made it 11-5. NJCU picked up a run on a Rosales RBI double in the home half of the seventh, but the Lions prevailed by a comfortable five-run margin.

Penn State Altoona softball continues its week in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic tomorrow, Monday, March 9. The Lions will take on Mitchell College at 11 a.m. before facing Gwynedd Mercy University at 1 p.m.