The Mariner Tritons were unable to come away with a win at the conclusion of a wild high school softball game Wednesday night against Palmetto Ridge, but coach Bill Stoudt hopes the Tritons can sustain the same fight and determination as they move forward.

The Tritons battled back several times and nearly tied the score again in the bottom of the seventh, before losing 11-10.

With two outs and the Tritons down by two, junior Nicole Roderiques drove the ball to deep center for a double. Cody Sawyer came around from second to score, but Alyssa Evans was thrown out at the plate, attempting to score from first base.

The Tritons fell behind 4-0 in the first inning, but their bats came alive. They put together a six-run second inning and finished with 12 hits.

“I was glad the girls hit the ball and we could do some scoring,” Stoudt said. “That was one of the things we couldn’t do last year. I was impressed. The girls got down and fought back.”

Roderiques went 3-for-5 with two RBI and Evans finished 3-for-4. Carrie Grigiski had a two-run triple and Samantha Rapp added an RBI double.

Despite the offensive production, the Tritons (1-2) made enough baserunning and defensive mistakes to show they’re still a maturing team only three games into the season.

“We’re not there yet,” Stoudt added.

Palmetto Ridge jumped on the Tritons in the top of the first inning. They brought 10 batters to the plate and had four hits, including a three-run triple by Jessica Rives.

The momentum shifted in a long bottom of the second as the Tritons took a 6-4 lead.

Rapp sparked the attack. She walked, stole a base and scored the first run on a wild pitch. The scoring continued with a two-out single by Roderiques and Grigiski’s two-run triple to right center. Abby Willis hit a pop fly to right that was misplayed, allowing another run to score.

The teams continued to add on runs, but there may have been more scoring if not for the abundance of baserunning gambles and alert defensive plays.

In the third, the Tritons threw out three Palmetto Ridge baserunners. Roderiques, who was playing second, gunned down a runner at third and Willis, the catcher, threw out a runner at second.

Samantha Greenwell and Mackenzie Hunt each threw out Palmetto runners at the plate from center field – Greenwell in the fourth and Hunt in the sixth.

The Bears built a 9-6 lead in the fifth on a two-run blast by Victoria Romaine. The Tritons fought back in the bottom of the fifth with two runs, but the Bears extended the lead to 11-8 in the top of the seventh.

The Tritons nearly tied it again in their last at-bat. Greenwell, Sawyer and Evans each singled. Lauren Jaenicke brought one run in on a sacrifice fly and Roderiques’ double made it 11-10, before the final out at the plate.

The Tritons are on the road Thursday at Cypress Lake.

Palmetto Ridge 401 220 2 – 11 16 3

Mariner 060 020 2 – 10 12 5

W – Kuypers L – Hunt

2B – Davidson (P), Rives (P), Rapp (M), Roderiques (M). 3B – Rives (P), Grigiski (M). HR – Romaine (P).