With the tying run at third and the winning run on first, darkness killed a huge rally and the Tiyan High School Titans escaped with an 18-12 win on Tuesday at the Guam High softball field.

It was the Titans first win of the young High School Girls Softball season, bouncing back from a 12-10 loss to Okkodo last week to improve to 1-1. The Panthers fell to 0-2.

The Panthers set the stage for some dusk drama. Down 18-12 after four complete innings, they got three quick outs then mounted their comeback. Tayler Cruz, who relieved the starter early in the first inning, had settled into a groove and was pitching strikes in the fifth.

But the Panther sticks had also woken up. They sent seven batters to the plate and racked up five hits, scoring five and cutting the margin to 18-17 with just one out. When the Lyra Dirige came to relieve Cruz, she walked the potential game-winning run, right before umpire Jim Reyes called the game for darkness.

The score reverted back to the last complete inning for the final 18-12 margin.

Guam High coach Doris Miller was pleased with the Panther performance and said that many of her girls are playing the sport for the first time. Her pitcher Eralyn Miller made her first start ever.

“They fought hard until the end,” said Doris Miller.

The Titans piled on the runs in the third inning. Down 8-7 the Titans scored 11 runs to take an 18-8 lead, but they also gave up four runs right afterward. Gracie Singleton hit a 3RBI blast to right field, which she legged out into an in-the-park home run. Miller also scored but the next batters went down in order.

Titan coach Rob Peredo said that his team was young too, and he was impressed with how they held it down when it mattered most.

“We’ve got three returnees and everyone else is new to the sport,” he said. “All credit to Guam HIgh for keeping it close and getting those hits. We wanted to focus on teaching the game as they played, and making it fun. And yes, our girls had fun out there. They had a blast.”

Tiyan faces George Washington High in their next game, while the Panthers will face the Southern Dolphins on Saturday.