CLERMONT, Fla. -- The Trine University softball team picked up a pair of victories on their second day in Florida. They defeated the College of St. Benedict by the score of 9-7 and then took down Roanoke College by the score of 6-1.

The first game of the day saw the Thunder in a battle with the Bennies. The opposition got out to a hot start in the contest scoring two runs in each of the first three innings holding a lead at the end of each of those innings.

Trine's offense got going in the top of the third when they scored five runs. The first run came on a bases-loaded walk for junior Haley Springer (Crestwood, Ky. / Oldham County) which chased Benedict's starting pitcher from the circle. The new pitcher faced a hard welcome as senior Victoria Porter (Canton, Mich. / Canton) clobbered a wall over the outfield fence to clear the bases in spectacular fashion. The grand slam gave the team a 6-4 lead, which they lost in the bottom half.

The Thunder took another lead in the top of the fourth when sophomore Ashley Swartout (Westfield, Ind. / Westfield) brought in a run with a single. But the Bennies once again responded by drawing even in the bottom half.

The 7-7 score held through the rest of regulation and the two teams went into extra innings. Trine scored two on a single from freshman Amanda Prather (Indianapolis, Ind. / Roncalli) in the top of the eighth and held the opposition scoreless in the bottom to take the 9-7 victory.

Freshman Katie Nevdal (Durand, Ill. / Durand) finished the game with the victory after pitching six spectacular innings in relief. She allowed just one earned run in her time in the circle.

The team then went on a quick turnaround to face off with the Maroons. The Thunder surrendered a home run to start the contest down 1-0, but it would be the last run that Roanoke scored in the game.

The lead was shortlived for the Maroons, as Prather picked up a three-run homer in the bottom half of the first to take a 3-1 lead. They then added three runs in the fifth with a single and two runners walked in to take the final 6-1 lead. 

Freshman Anna Koeppl (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrrysburg) pitched the entire game and worked the batters magnificently allowing just the lone run. She walked only three batters and struck out one.

Trine improves to 3-1 following the pair of wins. They will continue their week tomorrow, Tuesday, March 3 with a pair of games, the first coming against Johnson & Wales at 12:30 p.m.