Vikings use late-inning charge to down Crestview (PHOTO GALLERY)

CRESTVIEW — It took a while Tuesday, but the Fort Walton Beach softball team finally got its bats going against Crestview in District 2-5A play.

Through four innings, the Vikings had just two hits and were scoreless against Bulldog pitcher Elizabeth Bass and trailed 2-0.

But the last three innings were another story, as Fort Walton Beach pounded out nine hits and scored eight runs to pull away with an 8-3 win.

Click to view a photo gallery from the game »

The Vikings (8-2, 2-2 in District 2-5A) came out swinging in the fifth inning and touched Bass for five hits and three runs.

With one out, Rachael Dehlinger and Jennifer Phillips had back-to-back singles. But the big blow of the inning was a two-run single by Jaime Phillips that cleared the bases and tied the game.

Lauren Correia followed with a single to score Phillips and give the Vikings the lead.

The upset-minded Bulldogs (1-8, 0-4) grabbed the lead in the first inning when Sara Cadenhead singled and later scored on a Jacey Sanders double.

Lauren Estep extended the Crestview lead to 2-0 in the third inning when she singled and later scored on a Dehlinger wild pitch.

The Bulldogs had five hits through the first three innings, but could only touch Dehlinger for three hits the rest of the way.

Fort Walton Beach coach Andrea Browning credited her hitters for persevering in the early going while they figured out what Bass was doing.

“They just really made the adjustments at the plate and came out swinging the bat hard and we found some holes,” she said. “We like to hit the ball and they just needed to make the adjustments to make it happen.”

Bulldog coach Amy MacNicol tried to be upbeat in the loss.

“I’m proud of (the Bulldogs) for coming out and jumping on (Fort Walton Beach) early,” she said. “We’ve just got to stick together.

“We played good defense, but they just hit the ball.”