If Saturday was any indication of things to come for the Safford softball team, the rest of the season should be a lot of fun for the Bulldogs.

Safford participated with 12 other teams in the Hayden Tournament. The Bulldogs were a perfect 5-0 on the day and took home the tournament championship.

The first game of the day for Safford was a 10-2 thumping of San Manuel. Tiffany DeBruler pitched five innings and allowed two runs, and her sister, Chantel, completed the last two frames. The second game was against 4A Division II Cholla. The Bulldogs won a tightly contested battle 4-3.

Safford jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Cholla came back to take a 3-2 lead.

Chantel tossed five innings but had to leave the game when she was hit in the knee by a comebacker. Sharisse Fisher threw the final two innings to preserve the win.

Rachel Estrada collected four RBIs over the two games, and Jocelyn Russell came up with some big hits for the Bulldogs.

The third game was against Amphi, which defeated Safford in the Hayden Tournament championship game last year.

The Bulldogs pounded Amphi 11-1 in five innings. DeBruler went all five innings for Safford to pick up the win.

Fisher went the distance in a close battle with Douglas in the next game. The Bulldogs hung on for a 5-4 win in nine innings.

Douglas went into the loser’s bracket and won, and that set up a rematch with Safford for the championship.

Fisher again took the mound for the Bulldogs, who pounded Douglas 9-0 to win the tournament title.

“They were possessed in the championship game,” Safford head coach Tad Jacobson said of his team’s play.

It was a big lift for the players to win the tournament, especially the seniors who had waited four years to win the tourney, according to Jacobson.

Samantha Torrio, Fisher, Kathi Alvarado, Mandi Mazanek and Russell were named to the all-tournament team.