KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Alverno College rallied with a four-run fifth inning versus Rochester Institute of Technology for first-year head coach Kristin Kosobucki's first collegiate victory at the Rebel Spring Games at Osceola Country Softball Complex outside of Orlando in the opening game of the season.

The game began in unseasonal weather in central Florida, with temperatures in the 40s, and a slight drizzle throughout the game.

Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Inferno exploded for five hits and four runs to take a three-run lead. Junior leftfielder Andrea Derrick (Greenfield, Wis.) began the inning with a lead-off single to center field. Derrick advanced to second base on a fielder's choice hit by Alisha Janikowski (Milwaukee, Wis./Cudahy), and freshman first baseman Jamie Villalobos (Antioch, Ill./Antioch Community) struck out for the Inferno's second out of the inning.

Freshman centerfielder Bre Hart (Racine, Wis./Park) restarted the rally as she recorded her second hit of the game with a single up the middle, putting Derrick in scoring position.

Junior shortstop Megan Burgess (Racine, Wis./Park) came through with a clutch two-RBI single up the middle on the next at bat, giving Alverno the 3-2 advantage.

Senior pitcher Jessica Goetz (Milwaukee, Wis./Greendale Martin Luther) continued the rally and helped her own cause with a double to left center, knocking Burgess in for the score.

Adding one more run to the tally was freshman catcher Stef Wilmore (Elkhart, Ind./Central) as she cranked a double to left field, scoring Goetz.

"By the time we had seen that pitcher for the second time we had her timing down," Kosobucki said. "We started to string the hits together; once we got on base we realized how important those runs were."

Both teams would go scoreless in the sixth, but the Inferno would get themselves in a bit of a jam in the seventh after allowing a hit and a walk, and then committing a one-out infield error, allowing RIT (0-1) to cut the lead to two.

Goetz, who recorded six strikeouts in her season debut, forced the next two batters into pop outs, securing the victory.

"Jess did a great job of keeping the hitters off balance," Kosobucki said. "She just kept mixing it up."

In the second game of the morning, the Inferno fell to Ferrum College 11-2 in five innings.

From the end of the previous game, the wind picked up and the rain increased, creating sloppy and wet field conditions for Villalobos's first collegiate start in the pitching circle.

Ferrum (1-2) began the game with four runs in the opening frame, including a two-run inside the park homer, and matched it with a four-run fourth inning, taking advantage of the rookie southpaw's first start in less than ideal conditions.

The Inferno managed to put a pair of runs on the board in the second inning, taking advantage Ferrum's defensive miscues, but managed only two hits in the game compared to Ferrum's 10.

"I think the weather definitely played a big role," Kosobucki said. "Ferrum is a great hitting team, and defensively we had some errors and didn't help Jamie out in the circle. Offensively we made contact with the ball, but weren't stringing the hits we had in the first game, so she didn't get the back up that Jess had. But I'm sure she'll be ready to go the rest of the season."

The Inferno (1-1) continue play in the Rebel Spring Games tomorrow morning as they take on Gwynedd-Mercy College at 9 Eastern time, and the College of Saint Benedict at 11.