The Meadowview Christian softball team is in the Alabama Christian Athletic Association state final four.

Behind a dominant pitching performance from Christina Dabit and a lineup with 16 hits, the Trojans defeated Trinity Christian Academy 16-0 in a sub-state game Tuesday, which earned Meadowview a trip to the ACAA state finals in the school’s first year in the association.

“I’m excited, but I told them though if they lost today they didn’t deserve to play at all because they should have won,” said Meadowview Christian coach Cherie Grimes. “There’s no reason they can’t win it all if they really try. It is exciting that we have the opportunity to win it all.”

It was clear early on Tuesday that Trinity, a school that recently restarted its softball program, was overmatched against the Trojans. Dabit stuck out the first three batters she faced and the Meadowview offense got to work quickly.

Maggie Tipton’s double to left field scored Mallory Freine to give the Trojans a quick 1-0 lead. Alyssa Verhoff’s double to deep center field scored Shelby Boswell and Tipton to add two more Meadowview runs.

Claudia Kendrick’s sac fly scored Verhoff to put the Trojans up 4-0 after the first.

Trinity threatened in the second inning after Darby Heard and Kyra Curry reached base safely on bloopers that fell right at the beginning of the outfield grass.

Trinity had one runner caught stealing at third and then Dabit forced Madison Craft and Lauren Morgan to ground out to end the inning.

Meadowview kept piling it on in the bottom of the second inning. Tipton drove in Freine, Verhoff singled to bring home Shelby Boswell and Jessie Boswell’s single brought in another run to make it 7-0. Meadowview added one more on another sacrifice fly by Kendrick to go up 8-0.

Dabit kept the Tigers on their toes in the third, as she forced Daleigh Abbott to ground out, Angel Reaves to hit into a fielder’s choice and Chloe Cater to pop out.

Meadowview added only three more runs in the bottom of the third. Tipton tripled to score Freine and Shelby Boswell doubled off the outfield wall on a ball that looked like it might clear the fence. Bowell, who reached third after two poor throws by the Tigers, scored Tipton to give Meadowview an 11-0 lead.

Dabit forced her second three up, three down inning of the game in the top of the fourth. She forced opposing pitcher Heard to ground out, got Curry to strike out and forced Kylie Smith to ground out.

Meadowview put it away in the bottom of the inning. Tayler Roberts singled to score pinch runner Kalee Jones to make it 12-0. A double by Freine scored Roberts to add another run. April Posey’s single brought home Friene and Verhoff’s single scored Posey to make it 15-0.

The Trojans added one more, on a Dabit hit that scored Posey, to make it 16-0 before the umpires enforced the mercy rule, which requires a team to have a 15-run lead after four innings.

It was only fitting that Dabit’s hit put the finishing touches on a game that her arm controlled throughout. She gave up only one hit — on a short pop fly in the second inning — and struck out four.

Grimes said Dabit has pitched some of Meadowview’s junior varsity games, just so she could get back in the swing of pitching after not throwing a lot of games last year.

“I don’t think she got to pitch very much last year and I think her confidence in pitching has gone up tremendously and that’s helped her become a better pitcher,” Grimes said.

The Trojans will play Friday at 10 a.m. against Tabernacle Christian at New Life Christian in the first round of the double elimination state tournament. Meadowview has not played Tabernacle this year.