The road has not been easy in the Dixie Softball Debs State Tournament for the Lunenburg Girls Softball Debs, but they have persevered and improved to 2-1 Monday evening, rallying for a 16-8 elimination game victory over Buckingham.

It was Buckingham that grabbed an early lead, but Lunenburg went up 7-6 in the third and never relinquished the lead.

“I thought we played well,” Lunenburg Manager Jimmy Ray Dalton said on Monday. “We had less errors today than we had yesterday, fielded the ball better. We hit the ball when we needed to … So, I’m tickled to have won two games in this tournament and look forward to playing tomorrow.”

Lunenburg was set to face Powhatan at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Aided by a defensive effort that included only one error, Lunenburg used two pitchers Monday. Ellie Richmond pitched the last five, throwing four strikeouts, and Nikera Lee threw the first two innings, producing one strikeout.

On offense, Lunenburg generated 16 hits, led by Lee, who went 4-for-4. Meri Agnes Dalton went 3-for-4, Jocie Epperson and Brittany Dolan each went 2-for-4 and Molly Epperson was 2-for-5.

Lunenburg’s lone loss came by a 7-6 score on Sunday against Prince Edward-Farmville Youth Association (PEFYA).

Lee gave her team a 3-0 lead in the first inning with a three-run home run. Lunenburg led the whole game until the final play.

“If we would have made the routine plays, we would have won that game,” Manager Dalton said, referring, in part, to errors on defense.

Riley Jones pitched the entire game, helping limit PEFYA’s powerful offense with her speed of pitching.

“She did a great job,” Dalton said, adding that Jones had three strikeouts. “She throws a little slower; she’s crafty.”

Lunenburg played its first game in the tournament on Saturday, registering an 11-1 mercy-rule abbreviated win over Amelia.

Richmond pitched all five innings, throwing four strikeouts.

“She did excellent,” Dalton said.