The Lady Blue Devils of Escambia County opened their season on Tuesday with a tough road game against Class 6A opponent Robertsdale.

The Lady Blue Devils (0-1, 0-0) gave it their best shot against a traditional powerhouse, but were shut out 12-0 by the Lady Bears.

ECHS head coach Daryl Otwell said his team never gave up against the Lady Bears.

“We faced a talented Robertsdale team,” he said. “We saw a lot of good things from our girls in the game. They hustled and never gave up.”

One thing that plagued the Lady Blue Devils in their loss was a lack of offense with only one batter recording a hit.

Otwell attributed to the lack of production at the plate to the Lady Bears’ abilities on the mound.

“They had great pitching on Robertsdale’s team, so we only had one hit,” he said. “They had two or three pitchers that were very good on the mound.”

On the defensive end of their game, the Lady Blue Devils played better than Otwell has expected them to do.

He said he was pleased to see that fielding had come on quickly.

“Defensively, we played well,” Otwell said. “Our pitching walked too many batters, but we did a lot of good things with our fielding. There were some good moments with our pitching too and those things always come faster than hitting.”

Despite the loss, Otwell is looking forward to the rest of the Lady Blue Devils’ season.

He said he knows things will get better once everyone’s game is at a peak.

“We just need to get our pitching down and our bats swinging faster,” Otwell said. “I’m excited about what will come in the rest of the season.”