The Douglas Lady Bulldogs won the Safford softball tournament Saturday beating Willcox 7-0 in the finals.

Erika Tapia was the winning pitcher giving up no runs off three hits while fanning seven and walking one.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom half of the first inning as Katie Campbell hit a RBI triple and Nikki Lopez followed with an RBI single.

Douglas tacked on two more runs in the second and one more in the fourth.

The Lady Bulldogs had 17 hits in the championship game. Lina Campbell hit 4 for 4; Campbell and Tapia each were 3 for 4 with Campbell belting a triple. Jeanette Palmer was 2 for 3, Nikki Lopez 1 for 2, Victoria Mariscal 1 for 2, Veronica Tartaglia 1 for 3 and Jackie Gonzalez and Amy Victoria each were 1 for 4.

In the semifinals Douglas disposed of Safford 8-1.

Tapia was the winning pitcher this game giving up one run off three hits while fanning 10 and walking one.

The Lady Bulldogs had two two-run home runs by Tartaglia and Campbell in the second and third innings giving Douglas a 4-0 lead.

The Lady Bulldogs finished with 16 hits in the game. Tapia and Gonzalez each were 3 for 4, Campbell and Tartaglia each were 2 for 4 each having a home run. Campbell was 2 for 3, Mariscal 1 for 2 and Victoria and Nythzia Machado each were 1 for 4.

Douglas began the tournament with a 5-4 loss to Willcox in a pool play game. The Lady Bulldogs then came back to beat Miami 5-1 and Tombstone 10-1.

In the first round of the tournament games the Lady Bulldogs beat Thatcher 9-1.

Douglas’ softball coach Abe Grijalva said it’s been several years since his team won this tournament each year losing to either Willcox or Safford.

“This time we were able to take care of them,” he said. “The girls did a tremendous job of hitting the ball and then we had good pitching.”

 The coach said Willcox and Safford always have good quality teams and good pitching.

“It was a great victory,” he said.