By Cole Alex Kim

The Southern Dolphins defended their home on Wednesday evening against the Lady Titans from Tiyan in the opening day of the 2018 IIAAG girls softball playoffs. Southern made a statement in this game, winning 15-3 in a mercy rule induced five innings, sending the Titans home early.

Tiyan had a clear difficulty finding their way home as they only scored three total runs. Two of which were in the first inning, produced by Kamne Heflin and Joana Cruz. Their third and final run came in the very next inning. Besides these three runs, the Dolphins remained focused throughout the game to help their defense prevent runs and their offense to earn them.

“It is all about them working together and to stay focused,” said the Dolphins head coach, “this win was just about putting their heads in the game. We keep telling them they need to listen to errors, they need to listen to the coaches, and they’ll get the job done.”

The Dolphin offense scored a total of 15 runs throughout the game, including the walk off RBI triple hit by Torres to end the Titans’ season.

GAME FLOW

Tiyan bats came out of the dugout swinging right away! Khloe Owen hit an RBI which allowed leadoff batter Joana Cruz to take home. This was immediately followed by Kamne Heflin stealing home to make it 2-0 before the third out.

Fired up and ready for action, Southern responded right away, earning a quick seven runs in the bottom of the first inning. The first run came to the board when Torres was able to steal home plate after a wild pitch was tossed. The next was scored when Martinez hit an RBI, batting in Naputi to tie up the game.

Benavente then hit a ground ball to distract defenders so Martinez could score. Quenga, the pitcher, hit an RBI single so Reyes could score. Three batters later, Quenga and Tajalle were batted in by Naputi, the same person who would steal home minutes later. The score at the end of the inning was 7-2, Southern with a big lead.

Tiyan scored their last run in the top of the second inning when Kamne Heflin slugged in a big RBI triple, letting the previous batter to take the plate. It was now 7-3, little did the team know, that would be the last time they would hear from the offense today.

In the second inning, one more run was scored by the Dolphins. This was scored when an RBI let Tallada run to the plate, making the score 8-3.

The third inning brought another three runs for Southern. These runs were all registered by RBIs. Naputi, Benavente, and Reyes were the ones to score these runs. This made it 12-3 when Quenga was eventually batted in before the final out of the inning.

The fifth inning was full of surprise as Torres hit a walk off RBI, allowing three previous batters to empty the bases, thus ending the game at 15-3 thanks to the mercy rule.

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