Muhlenberg softball games in Florida are not for the faint of heart. But that's just fine for fans of the Mules.

Muhlenberg opened its 2014 season with a pair of wins, edging St. Benedict, 2-1, and Ohio Northern, 9-8. The Mules have now won 12 straight games in the Sunshine State, and seven of the last nine were decided by a single run.

The latest heart-stopping games both ended with the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base.

Junior Jaimie Klotz (pictured at left) had a big day, throwing out two runners on the bases from right field, one in each game, and delivering a key two-run double in the nightcap.

The first game was tied 1-1 in the seventh before the Mules started the winning rally with two outs and nobody on base. After singles by seniors Erica Wenzel and Kelly Kline, sophomore Brittany Dzieciolowski walked to load the bases. Sophomore Taylor Trifiolis followed with her third single of the game to bring home Wenzel with the lead run.

Junior Kelsey Jones finished off her complete-game eight-hitter in the bottom of the seventh, with a "save" by Klotz. With one out and a runner on first, Klotz alertly threw to second for a force play on a would-be single, keeping the tying run out of scoring position. The next batter walked, but Jones ended the game with a flyout.

Kline's bat helped Muhlenberg overcome an early 2-0 deficit in the Ohio Northern game. She belted her 22nd career home run, a three-run blast to center, in the bottom of the first and brought in two more runs with a two-out single in the third, tying her career high with five RBI and giving the Mules a 6-2 advantage.

The Polar Bears chipped away with one in the fifth and one in the sixth, and the damage in the sixth would have been worse but for Klotz throwing out a runner trying to stretch a triple into a home run.

Muhlenberg scored three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth on doubles by Kline, Dzieciolowski and Klotz, and they proved to be important when Ohio Northern plated four runs in the top of the seventh.