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STEUBENVILLE -- The alumni went home happy.
The Big Red softball team shook off a shaky top of the first inning before regrouping and pulling away for a 10-4 victory against Jefferson County foe Edison under the lights Wednesday night at the Crimson Complex.
The Wildcats tallied four runs on just one hit in the first to build a 4-0 advantage. The hosts committed three errors in the inning.
"That is what happens when one team is ready to play and one team is not ready," Big Red (7-2) head coach Gus DiMarzio said. "We were lax in our warmups. We were lax in a lot of things. When you do that, that is what happens.
"They got off to a fast start. A girl walked, and she ended up scoring. A girl bunted and got in, and she scored. We had a couple of walks to put people on base, and they scored. They went up 4-0.
"I did not feel we were ready to play, but we came in and scratched four run in ourselves. You're happy about that, but not with the start."
After trailing 4-0, the hosts plated the final 10 runs of the game to secure the win.
After Becka Evans -- Edison's No. 3 batter -- doubled in a pair of runs in the first, the Wildcats were held without another hit until there was two outs in the seventh inning. The visitors recorded two singles in the seventh and a had another batter reach on a walk, however, all three runners were stranded thanks to a game-ending strikeout.
"We woke Jules up, we woke Jules up," Edison (5-6) head coach Spencer Bendle said. "You could not ask for a better start. We put the ball in play, and good things happened for us. We also got a big hit too.
"From that point on, Jules dominated. We did very little to combat her. It was pitch and catch for her and the catcher. We did not put the ball in play."
King collected the win for Big Red as the senior standout struck out 15 while walking three. Ten of Edison's 11 girls to bat in the game struck out at least once.
Katie Fluharty took the loss for the visitors. She struck out 11 and walked three.
Defensively, the Wildcats committed four costly errors.
"Our defense killed us," Bendle said. "Last night, we played Weir, and we made a lot of good players. We made zero errors, and we came out on the winning side. Steubenville does a good job of putting the ball in play."
Big Red plated four runs in the bottom half of the first to knot the score at 4, and then the victors plated two more in the third to take the lead at 6-4. Big Red delivered another run in the fourth and three more in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
"I don't know what happened," DiMarzio said about what changed for his team after giving up four runs in the first. "You would have to ask one of the girls. I don't know if it was the fact that I yelled.
"Jules got a base hit, and people don't realize with our offense, it feeds off our speed and athleticism. Jules gets on base, steals second and ends up scoring. It is the snowball effect after that. You have the pedal down as you go down the hill. We were able to score four runs, and you're happy with that."
Big Red outhit Edison, 9-3.
Pam Johnson and Elle Joynson both singled in the seventh for the Wildcats.
Eight of Big Red's nine hits were singles.
Sena Smith singled three times and two RBI for Big Red, Sagan Smarrella tallied a three-run double and Bailee Beall and Paige Matteson each produced a single and an RBI. Also, King collected a pair of base hits, and Addy Meyer ended up with a single.
Though the Wildcats only had one hit to show for it, Edison sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning, but the team struggled to reach base after that.
"We did have a good mental approach in the first inning," Bendle said. "After that, I do not know. Jules is not going to walk a lot of people. You have to get in there and swing the bat. We looked at way too many strikes."
King struck out three batters in the first and seventh innings.
"She settled down," DiMarzio said. "She did a nice job. She may not have liked what I had to say between innings, but that's OK. That's what I am here for. I have to keep her on this planet with the rest of us. Tonight, she did a good job keeping us in the game and staying in a lot of at-bats."
There is a lot of respect between the Big Red and Edison players in coaches.
"I told coach Bendle I was glad he got 400 against someone else," DiMarzio joked. "He's a great coach. They have got a great program. He does a fantastic job. I have the upmost respect for him and everything he does and everything he teaches them. I have a lot of respect for him."
The game was the Wildcats first at Big Red's new turf softball field.
"It's going to be really nice when they get everything done," Bendle said.
King sent the fans home happy as she recorded a strikeout with the bases loaded to end the game.
"We had a lot of alumni here," DiMarzio said. "We had a lot of alumni come back. They were able to get off work and whatever and come to our first home game under the lights. It was nice to see all the alumni come back.
"Dana Meadows, who played in 2000, came down from Warren, and she talked to the team before the game. She told them how privileged they are to have everything they have. Steubenville High School is a special place, and it keeps getting better."
Edison is slated to take part in a tri Saturday afternoon out at Garaway. Edison will play New Philadelphia at noon, and then the Wildcats will play the Pirates at 2 p.m.
Big Red is scheduled to play Berne Union at 7 p.m. tonight.
"It's another one under the lights," DiMarzio said. "They are a good team. They have a lot of good athletes. Their head coach is from the Ohio Valley."
The head coach of the Rockets is Danny Snively. Snively is a graduate of River.
Big Red 10, Edison 4
Edison 400 000 0 – 4 3 4
Big Red 402 103 X – 10 9 3
EDISON (5-6): Fluharty LP (11K, 3BB) and Evans. Johnson S; Evans D, 2RBI; Joynson S.
BIG RED (7-2): King WP (15K, 3BB) and Smarrella. King 2S; Smith 3S, 2RBI; Matteson S, RBI; Smarrella D, 3RBI; Beall S, RBI; Meyer S.