Hancock's Mallory Sporalski touches home in the Bulldogs' home opener against L'Anse Purple Hornets at the Driving Park in Hancock Tuesday. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — A cold, dreary day at the Driving Park could not squelch the fire of the Hancock softball bats Tuesday as the Bulldogs shutout the L’Anse Purple Hornets twice. They mercied their opponent in three innings with a pair of 15-0 wins.

Both coaches noted that conditions were not ideal on two fronts. First, it was cold and windy, but not untypical for a game in late April. Secondly, both teams have had very little time outside of the gym and on a softball field for practices. In short, in has been a long winter wait for this spring sport.

“That makes it hard,” said new Purple Hornets coach Courtney VanderZanden. “You can only do so much in the gym.”

The Bulldogs had only been on their field for one practice before Tuesday. However, they proved to be the better of the two teams, even with such limited real-time practices. They had strong pitching and made the plays when needed.

“Our pitchers threw strikes, and that is what we needed today,” said Bulldogs coach Craig Biekkola.

His pitchers are his daughters, Sadie and Lucy. Sadie threw the first game for a three-inning win, and her younger sister did the same for a win in the second game of the doubleheader.

In the opener, Sadie was fortified with eight runs in the first inning, four runs in the second, and three in the third.

In the second game, the Bulldogs scored 11 runs in the first and four in the second to clinch a win without a third inning.

Swinging a big bat in the nightcap for the Bulldogs was shortstop Brooke Koskela. She was 2-for-2 at the plate and scored once. Lucy Biekkola helped her own cause as she scored three times.

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The Bulldogs traveled to Norway Thursday for a doubleheader and will host a tournament this Saturday at the Driving Park.