VIDALIA — Trinity Episcopal softball head coach Miranda Doughty said she knew her players’ heads were not in the game Wednesday against Franklin Academy.

But she still wasn’t expecting a 14-0 loss in a game where the Lady Saints only saw two hits and three walks at the Concordia Recreational District 3 complex.

Doughty said softball is a mental game, and her players’ lack of focus spelled their doom.

“They were not mentally ready to play,” she said. “We’re trying to go to South State (championship). It’s not the time to have a mental lapse.”

The lack of focus was evident from the start as Franklin Academy’s Sarah Hering slid home on a Lady Saint error early in the first inning.

The Lady Cougars took a 2-0 lead when Tyler Robinson scored on a sacrifice fly ball by Kassie Shipley.

In the top of the second, the Lady Cougars to scored again as Emma Gill stole consecutive bases on a series of Trinity errors.

Trinity couldn’t connect with the ball throughout the early innings, but Franklin kept coming back with more offense.

Casey Netherland got her only hit of the night in the third inning, but it was a big hit. She tripled to left field to bring home Sarah Roberts, Shipley and Gill. Netherland scored just moments later on a sacrifice fly by Jessie Moore to extend Franklin’s lead to 7-0.

The bottom of the fourth showed a temporary spark of life for Trinity as they finally had a batter to get a hit in Tali Beard.

Though Beard got on base, Trinity failed to capitalize on the opportunity, and both teams went scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings.

The sixth inning is where it all slipped away from the Lady Saints as Franklin scored seven unanswered runs to end the game 14-0 because of the 10-runs-after-five rule.

Doughty said despite what the scoreboard showed, she did see some positives from her team’s performance.

“They’re not playing terribly bad,” she said. “Our pitcher (Marty Lewis) played good, and she had strep throat yet played through it.”

Doughty also said she expects more from her offense after the Lady Saints tallied just two hits. Shipley, who pitched for Franklin, struck out four Trinity batters.

“They have a good pitcher, but she’s hittable,” Doughty said. “We’ve hit against her before. They need to get confident and aggressive yet still have a good eye.”

Doughty said she understands, as young athletes, that the players might have their own personal problems at home, but they must learn how to channel their emotions.

“They have to learn to leave everything off the field and play softball,” Doughty said. “They’re letting too many outside things come into the dugout.”

At 6 p.m. today, Trinity returns to the Concordia Recreational District 3 complex against Porter’s Chapel.