NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Penn State Altoona softball team finished its road trip to the Myrtle Beach area with a pair of wins, defeating Bridgewater State University and Centenary University on Thursday in the Lions' last day of their spring break trip in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic.

In its first game of the day, Penn State Altoona (4-4) won a back-and-forth tilt with Bridgewater State by a final score of 8-4. In the nightcap, the Lions earned a 7-5 win in extra innings over Centenary.

Game One: Penn State Altoona 8, Bridgewater State 4

Penn State Altoona started its final day in South Carolina at the North Myrtle Beach Complex in Little River, where the Lions got back in the win column with an 8-4 victory over Bridgewater State (2-8). Penn State Altoona overcame a 4-3 deficit in the fifth inning, putting five runs on the board to surge ahead and ultimately win.

Alyssa Fisher (Lock Haven, PA/Central Mountain) had a big game, both in the pitching circle and at the plate, for Penn State Altoona. In the circle, Fisher pitched a complete game to record her first win of the season. In seven innings, she held Bridgewater State to three earned runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out four batters. With the bat, Fisher went 2-for-3 with a triple, an inside-the-park home run, four runs batted in, two runs scored, and a walk.

Madalyn Maynard (Towanda, PA/Towanda) was also 2-for-3 for the Lions with a triple, two RBI, and two runs scored. Miracle Banta (Queens, NY/Academy of American Studies), Brooke Colledge (Everett, PA/Everett), Gianna Hoppel (Lewistown, PA/Mifflin County), Hanna Lauck (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte), and Madison Lucas (Philipsburg, PA/Philipsburg-Osceola) also had hits for Penn State Altoona.

Penn State Altoona made it 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, when Colledge singled to left, moved up to second on a passed ball, and scored on Hoppel's RBI single to center.

Bridgewater State tied the game 1-1 in the top of the second on a two-out RBI single to right from Riley Fitzgerald, and the Bears proceeded to take the lead on Kerrin McLaughlin's run-scoring base hit up the middle in the fourth inning.

The Lions worked their way back in front in the bottom half of the fourth. Maynard started the inning with a single to left, moved up on Banta's sacrifice bunt, and scored on Fisher's triple to center. Colledge drove Fisher in with a groundout to shortstop, putting Penn State Altoona up 3-2.

Bridgewater State countered with two runs of their own in the next half inning, getting two across in the top of the fifth to reclaim the lead. Emily Eastman led off with a base hit and later scored when she stole home as part of a double steal. Olivia Silva's RBI single to center gave the Bears a 4-3 advantage.

But Penn State Altoona used a five-run bottom of the fifth to retake the lead for good, doing all of its damage with two outs. Maynard's two-run triple down the left field line put the Lions on top, and after Banta was hit by a pitch, Fisher legged out a three-run, inside-the-park home run to left to put Penn State Altoona up by four, 8-4.

Fisher and the Lions allowed just one base runner the rest of the way for Bridgewater State, holding the Bears off of the scoreboard in the final two innings to preserve the win.

Game Two: Penn State Altoona 7, Centenary 5 (Final/8 innings)

Penn State Altoona faced Centenary (2-4) under the lights to close out its South Carolina trip, and the Lions pulled out a 7-5 win in eight innings. Tied 4-4 through seven, Penn State Altoona plated three in the top of the eighth and hung on for the victory.

Cameryn Feathers (Martinsburg, PA/Central) had a two-homer game for the Lions, going 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs, three runs scored, and three RBI. Lucas was 2-for-3 with three RBI and a walk, and Colledge went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Madison Peters (Bellefonte, PA/Bald Eagle) earned her third win of the season in the pitching circle, tossing a complete game. In eight innings, she allowed four earned runs and struck out five batters while scattering eight hits and walking one.

Feathers' solo home run in the top of the first put the Lions on the board, and Lucas' RBI single in the second made it 2-0. Feathers blasted her second long ball of the game in the third, hitting a two-run shot to increase Penn State Altoona's advantage to 4-0.

Centenary rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth, evening the score at 4-4, and the game ultimately proceeded to extra innings after the tied score stood up through seven innings.

Penn State Altoona jumped ahead in the top of the eighth on an RBI single from Lauck, then padded its lead on a two-run hit from Lucas that made it 7-4.

Centenary picked up a run in the bottom of the eighth, but it was not enough, as the Lions iced their second win of the day and ended their South Carolina trip with a sweep on Thursday.

Now, with its season-opening spring break trip behind it, the Penn State Altoona softball team will return to Pennsylvania to resume its schedule. The Lions' next games are on Thursday, March 16, when the team will travel to face non-conference opponent Bethany College in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m.