ALLIE BULLOCK had three hits (including two triples), scored twice and drove in three runs in Benicia’s rout of Bethel.

Victoria Mackey threw a five-hitter and teammates McKenna Gregory and Allie Bullock combined for seven hits, five runs and six RBIs as Benicia High’s varsity softball team walloped visiting Bethel on Thursday, 16-1, in five innings.

Eleven different Lady Panthers scored a run or drove in a run as Benicia improved to a perfect 11-0 overall and 5-0 in the Solano County Athletic Conference.

“It just goes to show the merit of this team,” said Benicia manager Kristin Grubbs. “We’re not just a few good individuals – it’s a team effort. Nobody has to carry the burden and that’s what makes this team so special. Everybody knows the person behind them in the batting order or on the field is going to do their job.”

It was the 48th straight SCAC victory for the Lady Panthers, who haven’t lost a conference game since getting shut out by Vanden on March 22, 2012. Benicia entered Thursday’s game ranked 16th in the state and 41st in the nation.

The Lady Panthers have had no problems scoring runs of late and are averaging nearly 13 runs per game in SCAC play. Benicia scored four runs in each of the first four innings against the Lady Jaguars, which made Mackey’s varsity home pitching debut a lot easier.

“I was really excited for it,” Mackey said. “It’s all I’ve been waiting for and it felt great. I can always trust my team to score runs because we’re pretty solid, but just because we have a lot of runs doesn’t mean the other team can’t score runs as well. I definitely still work hard when I go out on the field no matter what the score is and we all play tight defense.”

Bethel’s only run came in the first inning when Alyssa Esparza roped a one-out double and later scored. But Mackey was nearly unhittable the rest of the day, allowing only two base runners over the final four innings while improving to 4-0 on the season.

Gregory was unstoppable at the plate, going 4-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs. The sophomore blasted a two-run homer in the third inning and added a double an inning later. Bullock was just as deadly at the plate, going 3-for-4 (including two triples) with two runs and three RBIs.

Shelby Thompson went 2-for-2 with two runs and three RBIs. Mackey went 2-for-3 with two runs, Katie Vretzos scored twice and Olivia DeJesu drove in a pair.

Things have come pretty easy to Benicia in SCAC play but the Lady Panthers are trying not to let their great start and lofty rankings swell their heads.

“We talk about being humble and focusing on the long term,”Grubbs said. “We have a bigger goal in mind and we need to continue to work hard no matter who our opponent is. We take every team we play very seriously.”

“It seems like we’re winning easy but we’re always putting in our best effort because we have to stay prepared when we face tougher teams,” Mackey said. “We practice hard and we play hard.”

Benicia plays at Vallejo on Tuesday.

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