CLOVER PARK — Pacifica Christian softball didn't look like a team playing its first season in the sport on Wednesday against Lennox Academy.
The Seawolves struck for 10 first-inning runs highlighted by a 2-run home run by Chandler Dolan en route to an 18-5 mercy rule non-league five inning victory at Clover Park.
The game was never much of a contest.
After pushing 10 runs across in the first inning, Pacifica Christian struck for three more in the second including a 2-run home run by Merryck Dickerson. After crossing the plate, Dickerson could be heard yelling "I did it, I did it," much to the delight of her dugout.
In addition to the hot bats, Pacifica Christian was able to turn a triple play in the top of the third inning just when it appeared Lennox could be mounting a comeback of sorts.
It wasn't until the top of the fourth that Lennox finally got on the board when Flor Herrera scored on an error.
"We made some errors at the end of the game that we shouldn't have," Pacifica Christian head coach Mike Dolan said. "Those are some of the things that we still have to work on."
Pacifica Christian responded in the bottom of the fourth with five more runs, giving them a commanding 18-1 lead.
Facing the prospect of having the game called after five innings, Lennox mustered four runs in the top of the inning. Seawolves starting pitcher Emma Miller was able to steady herself and closed out the game on a soft tapper by Lennox's Christie Rivera.
"It seemed like [Lennox] didn't want to be here," Miller said after the game. "I was just trying to keep the ball outside to fool their batters."
The win improves the Seawolves' record to 6-2 overall during their first season in the sport.
The most difficult part about being a first-year program has been the logistics. Pacifica Christian has no fields of its own and has to practice at North Venice Little League, which is also the home field for the school's baseball team. Home games are at Clover Park, but the team has only been able to host two games out of the eight they have played this season.
The remainder of the season will be more of the same for Pacifica Christian, which only has two more home games left this year.
Despite the difficulties of mounting the first softball season, it has been the players' enthusiasm that has propelled the Seawolves to a winning record.
But, not everyone thought this first year would be easy.
Miller, a sophomore, was excited when she first heard about the team, but had reservations.
"I wasn't sure how well we'd do," she said with a laugh. "I'm glad to see it working out for us."
daniela@www.smdp.com
