NAPLES, Fla. - The Martin Luther College softball team earned its third straight split in its three days of action down in Florida on Sunday. The Knights lost the opener to Wilmington 7-2 before winning 6-4 against Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) later in the day.

WC 7, MLC 2

Wilmington topped the Knights 7-2 in the first game of the day.

MLC fell behind 2-0 early thanks to a pair of unearned runs in the second inning, and Wilmington tacked on two more runs in the third inning to take a 4-0 lead. 

The Knights climbed back in the game thanks to an RBI single from Kelsey Birschbach in the fourth inning and a solo home run in the fifth by Halley Engelbrecht, but Wilmington added three more runs in the next two innings to put the game away.

Morgan Palubicki (0-6) took the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits in five innings. Samantha Schoch led MLC at the plate with a pair of hits. 

MLC 6, RIT 4

The Knights held off a late charge by RIT to win 6-4 in game two.

Starting pitcher Rebecca Pruss (3-1) was the story for MLC, allowing only one hit through six innings before the Tigers rallied for four runs in the seventh inning to make the score tight in the end. Pruss finished the game allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits as she moved to 3-0 on the Florida trip.

Elena Hoffman led the Knights at the plate with two hits, including a two-run home run in the third inning, and three total runs batted in. Audrey Timm added two RBI, while Brett Burger drove in the other run. Brittany Denn led the team with three hits and scored one run.

MLC moved to 3-7 on the season following the split, and will return for one more day of action in Floriday tomorrow (Monday, March 11). The Knights will face SUNY Canton at 9 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. contest against Nazareth to conclude the trip.