The Flagstaff Girls Softball Little League (FGSLL) Majors All-Star team is advancing in the District 1 tournament.
FGSLL won its opening round Saturday, 18-0, over Page at Continental Park to advance to the finals portion of the district bracket.
The Flagstaff girls were superior from the opening moments, led by a no-hitter from pitcher Chloe Barton, who struck out 10聽batters in the four-inning mercy rule victory. The lone Page runner to get on base reached on a catcher鈥檚 interference call in the bottom of the fourth inning.
鈥�(Barton) settled in from the first inning and was great. We were the visitors, so we came in early and put up a lot of runs to start, and then she could come out and have a dominating performance. There were only a few balls even put in play, and our defense was ready to make the outs,鈥� manager Brandyn Tullis said.
FGSLL scored six runs in the top of the first inning and never let up. Of the 12 players who took swings, 11 tallied at least one hit and 10 scored a run.
Bentley Beath led the way, going 3 for 3 with three runs scored and an RBI. Karina Salazar hit 2 for 2 with a pair of RBI singles, two runs scored and a walk. Trinity Coddington batted 2 for 3 with two runs and a two-run inside-the-park home run. Autumn Dockter recorded a pair of triples, going 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Several others had solid days too, giving Page little chance to get easy outs. FGSLL also recorded 10 steals and had a handful of runners advance on errors.
鈥淥ur offense up and down the lineup contributed. That鈥檚 what we take a lot of pride in, that we have 12 hitters that can get on base, hit hard and make an impact on the game. They did excellent today,鈥� Tullis said.
Flagstaff had to start strong, as they wanted to showcase their talents in a way that proved to themselves how much power they had as a group. Page got past Winslow in the opening round, coming back from down 12 to advance in the double-elimination bracket.
As the opponents had a potentially momentum-swinging victory under their belts, FGSLL needed to be calm to begin the bracket.
Tullis was particularly proud of the way the girls were consistent throughout the game.
Up 14-0 after three innings, Coddington鈥檚 home run sealed the deal.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 always the thing that we鈥檙e nervous about right away -- getting those early jitters out. We know what we have as far as talent, but you have to come out and execute,鈥� Tullis said. 鈥淭hey did that today.鈥�
Next up is a contest against undefeated Round Valley in Taylor on Wednesday. Round Valley dispatched Silver Creek and Holbrook 11-0 and 12-0, respectively, in its first two games.
The winner of the next contest will not be eliminated yet, but will fall to the loser鈥檚 part of the bracket with more games needed to win the district championship and advance to the state tournament. Ultimately, that鈥檚 the aim for the FGSLL squad.
鈥淥ur goal is another state title. Our 11s last year has a lot of girls coming back from that team, and we have lofty goals. It starts with a game like this, and working to not have a letdown and play the level we expect,鈥� Tullis said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to surprise anybody, so it鈥檚 about playing with a target on our back as it gets more difficult. But I think we have the girls to do it.鈥�