LITTLE RIVER, S.C. – The Penn State Altoona softball team continued its week of competition in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic on Monday at North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex, where the Lions posted wins over Mitchell College and Gwynedd Mercy University.

In game one, Penn State Altoona (5-3) battled past Mitchell for a 6-5 extra-innings win. The Lions took care of Gwynedd Mercy in a five-inning game two, thanks to a 13-5 run-rule victory.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 6, Mitchell 5 (Final/8 innings)

The Lions and Mariners (1-3) found themselves deadlocked at 1-1 through six innings, and the teams traded three runs apiece in the seventh to remain tied, 4-4, sending the game to extras. Penn State Altoona was able to edge past Mitchell in the eighth, getting two runs across and holding the Mariners to one.

Alexa Baney (Snow Shoe, PA/Bald Eagle), Riley Best (Coalport, PA/Glendale), and Gracie Wilt (Altoona, PA/Altoona) each had a two-hit game for the Lions. Baney was 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base, Best went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run, and Wilt was 2-for-4 with a run. Audrey Walker (Mill Hall, PA/Central Mountain) had a double and two RBI.

In the circle, Best tossed the first three innings and limited Mitchell to one run on two hits and three walks while striking out one batter. Madison Kennedy (Williamsburg, PA/Central) threw the last five innings and recorded her first victory of the season, allowing no earned runs and striking out a pair.

Three straight two-out hits propelled the Lions to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. With two down, Karli Storm (Chest Springs, PA/Cambria Heights) and Best each singled up the middle. Kara Lansberry (Williamsburg, PA/Williamsburg Community) followed that with an RBI single down the left-field line to put Penn State Altoona on the board.

Mitchell evened the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the third, when Madison Cole led off with a triple and later scored on Zoe Battersby's groundout to second.

The 1-1 tie held until the seventh, when each team rallied for three runs. In the Lions' half, Baney's two-out RBI single gave Penn State Altoona the edge, and a two-run double to right center by Walker made it 4-1.

The Mariners answered in the home half of the seventh, getting a Battersby RBI single and a Kaylee Drago two-run base hit to bring the score even again, 4-4.

Penn State Altoona came back with two runs in the top of the eighth, using a Best RBI double and Kennedy sacrifice fly to jump on top, 6-4.

Mitchell put the potential tying run on base in the bottom of the eighth, but Kennedy and the Lions escaped by allowing just one run to cross home, icing the extra-innings victory.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 13, Gwynedd Mercy 5 (Final/5 innings)

The Lions trailed Gwynedd Mercy (0-2) 4-3 through two-and-a-half innings, but Penn State Altoona's bats led to victory by scoring 10 runs across the next three frames. The team finished with 13 runs on 13 hits in five innings of play.

Five different Lion hitters finished with multi-hit performances. Best led the way by going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, two RBI, three runs scored, and a stolen base. Kennedy was 2-for-2 with two RBI, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and a walk, and Allison Beeman (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone) went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run.

Storm was 2-for-3 with three runs scored, a double, a stolen base, and a walk, and Lansberry finished 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored. Lauren Davidson (Clearfield, PA/DuBois Central Catholic) tallied two RBI, and Walker also drove in a run.

Josselyn Nau (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) started at pitcher and secured her third win of the season with another complete game, going five innings and striking out four batters.

Penn State Altoona got out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Best drove in the Lions' first run with a single to right center, before a two-run double down the left-field line from Lansberry made it 3-0.

The Griffins surged ahead with a four-run top of the third. Macey Harrold scored from third on a double steal before run-scoring hits from Hannah Cohen, Sierra Miller, and Cailin Via gave Gwynedd Mercy a 4-3 advantage.

The Lions reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the third, as RBI singles from Kennedy, Beeman, and Baney put Penn State Altoona back in front, 6-4.

Gwynedd Mercy made it a one-run game in the next half-inning, as Gianna Trerotola's leadoff triple preceded an RBI base hit by Giavanna Kanaris to cut the Lions' lead to 6-5 in the fourth.

However, Penn State Altoona padded its lead with a six-run bottom of the fourth, getting six hits in the frame. Back-to-back doubles by Storm and Best started the inning and led to the Lions' first run, and a Kennedy RBI single down the right-field line made it 8-5. Later in the inning, Beeman and Davidson each delivered two-run singles to extend their team's advantage to 12-5.

The Lions put the eight-run rule into effect in the bottom of the fifth to end the game early. Best led off with a triple to deep right, and Walker's grounder to second drove her in to ice the victory.

Penn State Altoona softball is off tomorrow, Tuesday, March 10, then returns to action with two more games at the North Myrtle Complex on Wednesday, March 11. That day, the Lions will face Martin Luther College at 11 a.m. before taking on Delaware Valley at 3 p.m.