It didn’t take long for the Bellevue Wolverines girls softball team to make a statement in its rematch against the Mercer Island Islanders.

Bellevue, who suffered a 22-19 loss to Mercer Island on March 25, scored seven runs and sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning en route to a 11-4 triumph against Mercer Island on May 2 at Bellevue High School. Bellevue improved to 8-8 overall while Mercer Island dropped to 5-13.

Bellevue ace hurler Madi George surrendered just six hits in a complete game gem against her team’s biggest rival. George said watching her squad put up seven runs in the bottom of the first boosted her spirits. In the top of the first, Mercer Island loaded the bases but George got Mercer Island’s Angelina Barokas to ground out, quelling the threat.

“Coming out with seven runs gave us a nice little lead in the beginning and we just kind of kept going with it,” George said. “It gave me a lot of confidence. I know my teammates had my back. Mercer Island is a great team. We ended up losing to them by three runs last time. That was our motivation for this game. We wanted to try to take it to them in this one.”

Mercer Island got back into the game in the top of the fourth. Jessica Ramseyer had a 2 RBI triple, cutting Bellevue’s lead to 8-4. Bellevue added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth and one more in the bottom of the sixth, to put the game out of reach. Mercer Island head coach Dale Watanabe was glad to see his team recover from the bottom of the first, where Bellevue put seven runs on the board.

“I think we showed that we won’t give up,” Watanabe said. “We played hard all the way through and all the way to the end. We have been coming back from being down all year long. We just didn’t quite get it done today. We’re a little disappointed with this one and we’ll keep at it.”

Bellevue head coach Heather Tracy said the pitching staff has been a work in progress all season long but credited George, Kama Boswell and Stuart Buxton for being vital pieces of the pitching staff during the 2016 season.

“We have three girls that have never pitched before,” Tracy said. “Before this season started, none of them had ever thrown in a game before. Madi, Kama and Stuart have all taken on this role and are doing what is best for the team. They have been working and working. We are starting to see the fruits of all that work come into play. Madi was a completely different pitcher today than the last time we played those guys (Mercer Island). She has worked really hard to be in this position and to be successful on the mound. It is great to see.”