MERKEL — It took a few innings for highly touted Merkel to get it bats going in Tuesday’s District 6-3A opener with Ballinger.

But once the Lady Badgers got started, the complexion of the game turned on a dime — flipping a would-be pitchers’ duel into a 12-2 win via the mercy rule in six innings for MHS.

Eve Rodriguez with 3 for 3 with three RBIs  and Jaycee Tumlinson was 3 for 4 with an RBI to lead Merkel (11-1, 1-0), which pounded out 17 hits en route to the win — 16 of which came in the final four innings.