When the bats caught fire, the Trinity Lutheran softball team kept swinging.

The Cougars collected 11 hits against Edinburgh, highlighted by home runs from senior Natalie Plofkin and junior Taylor Reynolds, to come away with a 13-3 victory in five innings Tuesday.

“They came through tonight,” Cougars coach Chad Goecker said. “Some of the girls had tough at-bats; they had to battle some. They weren’t gimmes.”

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In the first inning, freshman Jodi Goecker got the Cougars on the board by scoring off a wild pitch before a pair of steals at second and third base. An RBI triple by Plofkin gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead after one inning.

In the second inning, the Lancers notched all three of their runs behind three hits and an error.

From then on, the Cougars put on an offensive showcase.

Following a walk, Reynolds dinged one to left field to put the Cougars back on top 4-3.

Goecker added another RBI for the Cougars with a single in the bottom of the fifth.

With two runners on base, Plofkin slammed a home run, giving the Cougars an 8-3 advantage.

In the fifth inning, sophomore Taylor Russell hit a two-run RBI double, Goecker managed a sacrifice RBI and Reynolds added a two-run RBI double to win by run-rule in walk-off fashion.

Both Plofkin and Reynolds finished with four RBIs to lead the Cougars.

“The biggest thing we’ve worked in the past couple of weeks is our approach at the plate,” Goecker said. “The girls have responded very well. It’s a big improvement. We couldn’t be more excited about that. Several girls had very nice hits.”

In the circle, Plofkin threw five strikeouts and allowed five hits and one walk in five innings.

While offense played a large role in the victory, coach Goecker said he’s been eqaully pleased with the girls’ performance in the field.

“Our defense has really stepped up this year,” he said. “We’ve done extremely well. It started out a little rough, but we knew it was just a fluke. We’ve been happy with it. Our outfielders have been working hard, making plays for us, and our infield has been doing well.”

The Cougars (9-4) will host South Decatur on Thursday.