LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The No. 18 Trine softball team opened its season with a pair of wins in the Transylvania Invitational Saturday afternoon at the University of Kentucky.
The Thunder scored early and often in the season-opening 9-3 victory over DePauw. The team followed that up by outlasting Transylvania for a 6-4 victory in 10 innings in game two. Kaylee Fox (Vermilion, Ohio / Edison) belted the game-winning two run homer in extras in the nightcap. Fox's homer moved her into third on Trine's all-time home runs list with 30 career round-trippers. Trine opens the season 2-0.
Game One: Trine 9, DePauw 3
The Thunder put up eight runs over the first two innings to open the season on a high note.
Erica Robles (Long Beach, Calif. / Lakewood) scored on a wild pitch, and pair of bases-loaded walks forced in two more runs to give Trine a 3-0 lead after one.
Five more runs were tacked on to the Thunder lead in the second. Lainey McCue (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) and Carly Bachna (Elyria, Ohio / Elyria) each singled home runs to get things started. Nicole Ferraro (North Royalton, Ohio / Holly Name) capped things off with a pinch-hit two-run double for her first career RBIs.
Bachna later added her first collegiate homer as part of a two-hit debut. Robles also had two hits in the game for the Thunder.
Hannah Kampmann (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin Derham Hall) picked up her first collegiate victory in relief. The freshman fired 4.1 shutout innings and surrendered just one hit.
Lauren Godden, Sidney Holler and Gabby Smart collected RBIs for DePauw.
Game Two: Trine 6, Transylvania 4 (10)
Late-inning heroics for both teams sent the game to extras before Fox was able to send the Thunder home victorious.
Each team was held to just one run over the first five innings before Trine broke things open with a three-run sixth. A sac fly by Catherine Porter (Canton, Mich. / Plymouth Canton) gave the Thunder the lead. Claire Ryan (Union Grove, Wis. / Union Grove) knocked in her first collegiate run with a RBI-double to give Trine a two-run lead, before Emily White (Fortville, Ind. / Mt. Vernon) made the score 4-1 with another RBI-double.
The Pioneers had the answer in the bottom half of the frame with three runs of their own. Shelby Poehlein doubled home her second run of the game to cut the deficit to 4-2. A later two-run double by Meg Liter tied the score.
Despite extra innings being played under international tiebreak rules with a runner placed on second to start every inning, neither team was able to break through until the 10th. Fox launched her first homer of the season to left field to give the Thunder the 6-4 final.
Danielle Ray (Hamilton, Ohio / Baden) was the workhorse in the circle for Trine in game two. The freshman pitched all 10 innings to earn her first collegiate win. Ray allowed four earned runs on seven hits, walked two and fanned six.
Poehlein knocked in two runs and collected a pair of hits for the Pioneers.
Trine concludes the Transylvania Invitational with a pair of games tomorrow. The Thunder face Wartburg at noon, before facing a yet-to-be-determined opponent in the championship or consolation round.