Dodgers outlast Marlins

By Andy Brown

Published: June 12, 2008

The first inning of the Dodgers’ showdown with the Marlins looked more like a track meet at times than a softball game.

In an inning that stretched nearly 50 minutes, players from both teams raced around the bases for a combined nine runs. In the end, a 5-4 advantage after the first inning helped power the Dodgers to an 11-5 win in a Dixie Angels’ contest that lasted just two innings due to the time limit that restricts games to an hour and half.

The Dodgers jumped out to a 5-0 lead by banging out four hits and drawing four walks in the game’s opening inning.

Shelley Beaty started the rally with a leadoff single.

She then advanced to second base on an errant throw.

Tanesha Carter and Ilyssa Easton followed with walks before Jazzlyn Purswell ripped a single that scored Beaty for the game’s first run.

On the next at bat, Shelby Wood smacked a bases-loaded triple that scored Carter, Easton and Purswell and gave the Dodgers a 4-0 lead with no outs in the inning.

After Marlins right-hander Carly Whitehead recorded a strikeout for the first out of the inning, the Dodgers tacked on one more run when Sara Eubanks singled to drive in Shelby Wood.

Whitehead recorded a second strikeout sandwiched between walks to Summer Orr and Taylor Wood before the inning ended.

The walk to Taylor Wood – the 10th batter of the inning for the Dodgers – brought the rally to an end with the bases loaded.

The Marlins also marched 10 batters to the plate in the first inning and managed to push five runs across without collecting a single hit in the inning.

After Purswell opened the inning by recording a strikeout, Murray Margaret Price, Nikki Clark and Carly Whitehead each drew walks to load the bases.

On the next at bat, an inside pitch plunked Anna Marie Brown on the foot and plated Price to put the Marlins on the scoreboard.

Back-to-back walks to Rebecca Waters and Lexi Sanderson plated two more runs cut the Dodgers’ lead to 5-3.

After Easton came on to pitch and recorded a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Megan Casker drew a walk that brought Brown home and trimmed the Dodgers’ lead to a single run.

The Dodgers answered back in the top of the second inning with six more runs.

Four consecutive walks to Brandy DeLoach, Courtney Dukes, Beaty and Clark plated the first run of the inning for the Dodgers.

The Marlins notched their first out of the inning when Brown got Easton to hit a ground ball back to the pitcher’s circle.

Brown alertly scooped up the ball and ran toward home where she tagged out Dukes.

On the next at bat, Purswell laced a single to right field that scored two more runs.

Payton Jones added an RBI single and Orr capped the scoring with a two-RBI single that gave the Dodgers an 11-4 lead.

The Marlins mustered one more run in the bottom of the second inning.

Price led the inning off with a walk and on the next at bat Clark doubled through the left side of the infield to score Price all the way from first base.

Easton then struck out two of the final three batters to seal the win for the Dodgers.

She finished the game with four strikeouts.

Purswell paced the Dodger offense with a 2-for-2 effort that included three RBI. Shelby Wood also picked up three RBI with her first-inning triple. Orr drove in two runs in the win.

Clark led the Marlins’ offense with her RBI double.