Fort Myers, Fla. - The Franklin College softball team opened the 2014 season with a pair of victories, downing Clark University (Mass.) 7-5 and Alverno College (Wis.) 6-2 as part of the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Florida on Saturday.

Franklin (2-0) rallied to win both contest. The team trailed Clark (0-2) 5-0 in the fourth inning and that deficit could have been worse. The Grizzlies got out of a base-loaded jam in the fifth inning and scored seven unanswered runs to pick up the victory.

In the day's second contest, Franklin trailed 1-0 before tying the game in the fourth inning. The team had a three-run fifth inning to pull ahead 4-1. After Alverno (1-1) scratched a run across in the top of the sixth inning, Franklin responded with two more runs in the sixth inning.

The team tallied nine hits in the victory, led by freshman Shannon Farr (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) and sophomore Anne Schwomeyer (Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood) each having two hits.

Sophomore McKensie Vanosdol (Mt. Vernon, Ind./Jennings County) pitched three innings in relief to record the victory. She also recorded a win in relief in the opener.

Alverno took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Grizzlies tied the game on a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Jeana Gregory (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville). The error allowed freshman pinch runner Abby Snyder (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) to score from second base.

Later, Gregory broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning with a two-run triple to score sophomore Katie Struewing (Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood) and Farr. Gregory would later score on a single by Schwomeyer to give Franklin a 4-1 advantage.

Vanosdol helped her cause at the plate with a two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning.

Five of the six runs for Franklin scored against Alverno came with two outs in an inning.

Franklin resumes play in the Gene Cusic Classic on Sunday, March 2 against Alverno at 9 a.m. and against Newbury at 11 a.m. Live statistics of the contest against Alverno will be available here.