After battling through a string of heartbreaking losses, the Muhlenberg softball team broke through in a big way, scoring in each of the first five innings en route to a much-deserved 12-6 win against Juniata.

In their first game of the day, the Mules (2-6) fell to Catholic, 3-2 in nine innings - their sixth straight one-run loss, all in the opponent's final at-bat.

Sophomore Kristina Qualben belted her first home run of the season in the win. Junior Karissa Astrella, sophomore Allyson Sweeney and freshman Sarah Schubert each recorded a pair of hits, and junior Hayley Peterson pitched 6 2/3 innings for her second win of the season.

Sweeney tripled to center and scored on Astrella's infield hit to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first. Muhlenberg took the lead for good with two in the second on ground balls by junior Paige Seitz and Schubert.

With one out in the third, Qualben (pictured above) cranked a pitch over the fence in left-center for her seventh career home run, igniting a six-run outburst. Junior Hanna Caiola and Schubert also had hits in the inning, which ended with two runners coming in on a wild pitch. Seitz scored from third, and when the catcher's throw to the pitcher covering the plate went awry, Schubert came home.

Senior Courtney Simon, who reached in three of four plate appearances, singled in a run in the fourth, and Sweeney plated Schubert in the fifth.

Peterson pitched the first four innings, then re-entered in the fifth when the Eagles threatened to get back into the game. Coming in with the bases loaded and one out, she got help from sophomore Sara Reibschied, who made a nice catch of a soft liner to third base. Peterson retired the next batter on a fly ball to end the threat and pitched the final two innings.

In the first game, junior Haley Fedak struck out a career-high nine batters - including five in a row in one stretch - and allowed only four hits and one earned run in 7 2/3 innings. The Mules broke a scoreless tie in the fifth when junior Amelia Shelley tripled and came in on a single by freshman Sarah Siclari, but the Cardinals tied the score in the bottom of the sixth.

After neither team scored in the seventh, Muhlenberg went to extra innings for the fourth time on its trip to Florida. 

Astrella singled past a diving Catholic second baseman to give the Mules a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth. The Cardinals matched the run in the bottom of the frame, then walked off with the win on a sacrifice fly in the ninth.

Siclari went 3-for-4 in the first game and leads the team with a .526 batting average.

Five days into their season, the Mules have already set a school record with four games of longer than eight innings. They played one such game in the previous three years combined.