The Straughn Lady Tigers won the sixth annual Kirsten L. Dean memorial softball tournament on Saturday in Straughn.

To start the day off right, the Lady Tigers defeated Florala 12-2, before getting a 10-run, 11-1 victory over Opp.

In the championship game, Straughn beat the Lady Bulldogs of Andalusia 3-1 in nine innings.

Andalusia coach Marcus Taylor said his team had plenty of “chances” to win the tournament.

“We had our chances to win and we lost by inches,” he said.

The “inches” Taylor was referring to was an almost two-run home run hit by Andalusia’s Paige Caraway in the seventh inning.

“Paige hits one — no lie — 12 inches from the top of the fence and that would have been a two-run home run and the game would have been over,” Taylor said. “There is a runner on second and third with one out, and Abbie Young hits a line drive to left center, the short stop jumps in the air and the ball hits her glove and snow cones it.

“Then, she doubles up on our girl at third base,” he said.

The championship game went into extra innings with the score at 1-1.

In the bottom of the eighth inning and with a runner on second base due to the international tie breaker rule, Straughn’s Kayla Messer hit an RBI double to score Stephanie Bracewell.

The Lady Tigers’ (12-7-1) last run came on an RBI single from Tiffany Taylor that scored Messer.

Straughn’s Katy Messick earned the win pitching seven innings and had eight strikeouts.

Losing pitcher Caraway had 17 strikeouts.

In the Florala game, Straughn’s Kaitlynn Wiggins was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two stolen bases; and Messer was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two stolen bases.

Wiggins earned the win with five innings of work and struck out 10.

Against Opp, Wiggins earned another win from the mound with five innings, allowing one run on six hits.

Wiggins was 2-for-4; Messick was 2-for-4 with two RBIs; Taylor was 2-for-3 with three RBIs; and Megan Johns was 2-for-3.

Before they played Straughn in the championship game on Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs beat Red Level 12-8 and Pleasant Home 3-0.

Andalusia’s Omarria McGee, a courtesy runner for A.C. Riley; Emily Terry, Caraway and Megan Pugh all scored in the first inning.

The Lady Bulldogs added two more runs in the third inning on a passed ball and an RBI.

McGee, Kenna Edmondson, Terry, Caraway, Young and Sam Greene came around in the fifth to run away and beat Red Level.

Red Level scored three in the second and four in the fifth.

Young earned the win from the mound with five strikeouts.

In the Pleasant Home game, Andalusia (13-5) scored all of its runs in the sixth inning on two hits, with Caraway hitting a two-run home run.

“Overall, the resiliency of this team is so impressive,” Taylor said. “They never give up, and it has just been awesome to coach these girls. There’s something special about this team.

“They have consistently performed at a high level when they have needed to.”