Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Parkland College Softball team kicked off its season with two thrilling wins at the JUCO Kickoff Classic on Friday, January 27th, defeating Pensacola State College, 1-0, and the College of Central Florida, 3-2, in nine innings. Freshman pitcher Karley Yergler earned two wins on Friday, striking out 11 batters in her two appearances.
 
"Both games were a dog fight from the first pitch, and we are just so proud of our ladies for showing up and competing today," co-head coach Kristi Paulson said after the 2-0 start.
 
"We just need to continue to take things one pitch at a time, one out at a time, one inning at a time, one game at a time, and get one percent better every day, and good things will happen," co-head coach Dan Paulson added.
 
Game 1: No. 17 Parkland 1, (DI) No. 11 Pensacola State College 0
 
The Cobras began the day with a defensive battle against the 11th-ranked Pirates (0-1). Karley Yergler threw seven innings of shutout ball in the first start of her college career, striking out nine batters and walking just two. With the game and two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh, freshman Ellie Vetter (1-3, RBI) scored Emma Mason (R, BB) on a walk-off double to give Parkland the season-opening win.
 
Sophomore Jaidi Davis (1-2) and freshman Kami Pearson (1-1) each singled in the win.
 
Game 2: No. 17 Parkland 3, (DI) No. 12 College of Central Florida 2 (9 innings)
 
Sophomore first baseman Bri Roloff (1-4, R, 2 RBI) put Parkland ahead with a two-run double in the top of the sixth inning. The Patriots (1-1) battled back in the bottom of the seventh, tying it up at 2-2 and sending the game into extra innings. In the top of the ninth, Yergler (2-4, RBI) hit a go-ahead RBI single to give the Cobras a 3-2 lead, and the Mahomet native earned her second win of the day in the bottom of the ninth, closing out the Patriots in a two-inning relief appearance.
 
Ellie Vetter got the start in game two, going seven innings and allowing just two unearned runs on three hits and four walks, striking out 10. Shortstop Lizzie Stiverson (2-4, R, SB) singled twice in the extra-innings win.
 
"We certainly learned some things that we need to work both on defensively and at the plate," Dan Paulson said after Friday's games, "but it is so nice to get outside on the dirt in January. It's all part of the process. The way we handled the adversity in the second game of giving up the lead and bouncing back to win it in the ninth is something that will help us compete in the future."
 
Up next, the Cobras will take on Northwest Florida State and Santa Fe College tomorrow, January 28th, at the JUCO Kickoff Classic and Showcase in Clearwater, Florida.