DIXON – After a big road win over a Big Northern Conference rival on Tuesday, the Dixon softball team was hoping to carry over that momentum into Wednesday’s home game against Rockford Lutheran.

The Duchesses did just that, scoring at least three runs in every inning of a 16-1, three-inning BNC win at Reynolds Field.

“After our win against Oregon [on Tuesday], we really wanted to come in and bring that energy again,” Dixon catcher Arianne Smith said. “We know our skill is there, and it’s just bringing it together as a team.

“I didn’t think we’d put 16 runs on the board, but I was hoping and anticipating that we would come out here and win, and I’m glad that we did.”

Smith started the onslaught by hitting the second pitch in the bottom of the first inning for a sharp single to left field. The ball got past the Lutheran left fielder, and Smith raced around to third, then when the throw into the infield got away, she started and stopped twice before beating the throw to the plate for a 1-0 Dixon lead.

Sam Tourtillott singled with one out and stole second, then Anna Kate Phillips reached on an error. Izzi McCommons smacked a two-out single to right to drive in Tourtillott, and Phillips scored when the ball was mishandled in the outfield.

The second inning was the big one for Dixon (4-0, 3-0 BNC). Holli Miller and Morgan Leslie both reached on errors, then Miller stole home as the defense fell asleep momentarily. Leslie then scored on Smith’s groundout for a 5-0 lead.

Tourtillott restarted the rally with a two-out double, then Phillips reached on another error before Elle Jarrett ripped a two-run double to left. McCommons beat out an infield hit to the right side when nobody covered first base, and Olivia Mowery followed with another infield single, and Jarrett scored when the ball got away at first base.

Miller came up for the second time in the inning and again reached on an error, as McCommons scored on the play. Leslie then beat out an infield single to drove in Mowery, and Smith followed with a two-run single to right for her second run-scoring at-bat of the inning to give the Duchesses a 12-0 lead.

“One of our goals is to stay aggressive and put pressure on teams. When we’re aggressive, it gets in their minds and they have to think more. That’s our goal, to make the other team make plays,” Tourtillott said. “We hit really well [Tuesday], and it carried over to today. We just had to wait on the ball, and we adjusted. There was definitely a difference between the pitching [Tuesday] and today, so we knew we had to adjust, and we did a good job with that.”

Lutheran scored in the top of the third, as Audrey Christianson drove in Sami Spangler with a two-out double.

But the Duchesses finished the game in the bottom of the inning. Tourtillott walked and Phillips doubled her home, then Jarrett and McCommons drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Phillips scored on a wild pitch, then Mowery and Miller reached on errors, with Miller’s driving in Jarrrett. Leslie notched her second infield single of the game to drive in Mowery for the 15-run margin.

“We’ve been working on our hitting a lot in our practices, just working on timing and getting to all the inside and outside pitches,” Smith said. “Today, it must have really connected, and we hit the ball hard.”

Smith was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored, while Jarrett and Leslie (2-for-3) both had two RBIs and scored twice. Tourtillott was 2-for-2 with three runs scored, Phillips also scored three runs and drove in another, McCommons had two hits, an RBI and a run, and Miller and Mowery both scored twice. Eight different Duchesses scored, and seven Dixon players pounded out 11 hits; they also took advantage of 10 Lutheran errors.

Tourtillott (1-0) was on point in the circle, getting into a groove by mixing locations and speeds. She struck out seven and walked one, allowing an earned run and three hits. She threw 37 of her 51 pitches for strikes, and got three of her strikeouts with two-strike changeups that left the Crusaders guessing.

“It was nice to be able to mix things up,” Tourtillott said. “It was easy having the defense behind me, and knowing that even if I throw it right down the middle and they hit it, my defense will make the play. I had a lot of confidence in the circle because of that.”