Put the ball in play.

That was Tri-Valley’s game plan going into its Schuylkill League matchup with Marian on Wednesday.

The Bulldogs came out swinging against the Fillies, putting together a big nine-run second inning on their way to a dominant 17-0 victory.

“Our goal was to put pressure on their defense. Morgan Kelly has been pitching great for them and she’s been getting a lot of strikeouts, so we thought maybe their defense hasn’t really been challenged yet,” said Tri-Valley head coach Marty Shade. “It’s just one of those games where everything worked out, and the girls really executed the game plan.”

After a scoreless first, the Dawgs used a revolving door of baserunners to take control in the second. Tri-Valley collected six hits in the inning and stole four bases, which paired with four Fillies’ errors, produced a 9-0 advantage. The big hit in the inning was a Sydney Schley RBI triple. Emma Maurer added a single in the outburst, while Lexi Snyder and Grace Header delivered RBI doubles.

“A big key for us today was base running,” said Shade. “We don’t always have the fastest girls here, but it seems like we always have just really smart players who know how to run the bases. We can put pressure on a lot of teams by getting on the bases because of our smart base running.”

As good as the Dawgs were from the batters box and on the bases, they were equally as impressive on defense. Tri-Valley didn’t allow more than four batters in any inning as pitcher Emma Maurer put together a solid day in the circle. Maurer gave up just two hits, while striking out 11.

The Dawgs continued to put pressure on the Marian offense in the fifth, scoring six more runs to put the game away.

It was a tough outing for Marian (7-2 overall, 4-1 in the league), but the Fillies are still at the top of the Division 3 standings.

“There are no easy outs with them, and there were a couple of plays that got away from us that we didn’t make in that second inning, which got them going,” said Marian head coach Joe DeAngelo. “We lost a tough one to Western Wayne last week, and then we bounced back with a win.

“I think that could be key for us again, We need to bounce back and play well after today.”

LONE HITTERS ... Kelly and leadoff batter Jackie Guth were the only players with hits for the Fillies. The Dawgs amassed an impressive 13 hits on the day.

MISCUES ... Five Marian errors - including four in TV’s big second inning, - served as a catalyst for the Bulldogs’ 17 runs.

Tri-Valley 090 26 - 17 13 0

Marian 000 00 - 0 2 5

Maurer and Rice; Kelly and Grabosky. W - Maurer. L - Kelly.