Lime green jerseys lit up the field as Troy’s Dixie Darlings stepped up to the plate to face Samson in the first game of the weekend long Sub-District Tournament. Troy scratched out of an early hole to claim a 14-7 win in the first round of the Dixie Softball Sub-District tourney.

The girls started the game strong when #97, Mikalah Griffen, scored the first run for the team at the top of the 2nd inning. The Darlings followed suit, scoring 5 runs in the 3rd inning alone.

Samson fought back strong and took a 7-6 lead to close out the 4th inning. According to head coach Adam Navarre “resilience was key in tonight’s win against Samson.” After a scoreless 4th inning and a few encouraging words from Coach Navarre, the Dixie Darlings knew they had to do something drastic in the final inning if they wanted to pull off a win.

Going into the 5th inning down by 1 was obviously the only motivation the Darlings needed to kick the game in high gear. #33 Molly Garrett stole the show scoring the only homerun of the game for the Darlings and kicking off an eight-run scoring streak. Cheers filled the stands as girl after girl stepped across home plate, returning the Darling’s to the leading position.

“The girls never get down on themselves,” said Navarre. “They knew going into the final inning they were down 7-6, but they did not let that get them down.”

The girls were all smiles as they exited the field after a 14-7 Dixie Darling victory. High energy was in the air as they mingled with family and friends celebrating the win after the game. Team mom Alexis Glasco encouraged the girls to “play hard together as a team, but most importantly enjoy themselves.”

The Dixie Darlings will take on Greenville at 9:00 a.m. Saturday to play their second game of the Sub-District Tournament.

“Determination and effort are the only things the girls need going into tomorrow’s game,” Navarre said. “If we can combine those two, we can definitely win.”