The Muhlenberg softball erupted for seven runs in the top of the eighth inning and went on to defeat Franklin & Marshall, 8-2, in the first game of a doubleheader. The Diplomats took the nightcap, 9-3.

The seven runs were a school record for an extra inning, topping the five the Mules plated in the ninth inning of a 7-3 win against Franklin & Marshall in 1997.

Sophomore Kristina Qualben had two RBI hits in the big frame - none bigger than her leadoff home run that broke a 1-1 tie. Senior Courtney Simon and junior Amelia Shelley followed with back-to-back doubles to bring in another run, and juniors Hanna Caiola and Karissa Astrella added run-scoring singles wrapped around an RBI fielder's choice by sophomore Allyson Sweeney.

In her second at-bat of the inning, Qualben singled up the middle to bring in the final run. Shelley also had two hits of Muhlenberg's eight hits in the inning.

The runs were plenty for junior Hayley Peterson, who went the distance, scattering eight hits and striking out five, for her fifth win of the season. She ended the game with a called third strike.

The Mules (7-11, 3-1) pounded out a season-high 18 hits, with Caiola, Qualben, Simon and Shelley netting three each. Astrella, junior Paige Seitz and freshman Sarah Schubert had two hits apiece.

Sweeney (pictured above) led the offense in the second game with three hits, including a two-run blast in the fifth for her first career home run. Qualben went 2-for-4 in the nightcap, extending her hitting streak to 11 and raising her season average to .393.