New Brockton rallies to beat Enterprise again

ENTERPRISE – In last year’s Dixie Belles sub-district tournament in New Brockton, Enterprise defeated New Brockton by one run in bracket play.

New Brockton then rallied to beat Enterprise twice in the championship to win the tournament.

A year later, a change of venue did not lead to a change in story.

After falling 5-4 in the last game of bracket play, New Brockton took the championship with 11-5 and 9-5 wins Monday.

Monday’s first game stayed tight early as New Brockton controlled a 2-1 lead head into the third inning.

RBI singles from Chelsey Holloway and Abby Dunaway powered New Brockton, while Enterprise’s Aubrey Baer singled and scored.

New Brockton, though, did major damage in the third, exploding for four runs.

Heather Hendrix, Ebonee Muhammad and Emily Smith all singled and scored. Jena Freese added another tally for the rural Coffee County visitors.

Enterprise was not going to go quietly, getting three runs in the fourth.

Sissi Tindol, Baer and Allie Forehand all reached base. Tindol stole home on a double-steal, while Forehand and Baer scored on a two-RBI single from Jin-Mi Matsunaga.

Enterprise cut the lead to 6-5 before New Brockton added two runs in the fifth to make the score 8-5.

New Brockton got three runs in the bottom of the sixth as Lynn Kerrigan, Dunaway and Chelsea Lindsey all walked.

Kerrigan scored on a wild pitch before Lindsey and Dunaway came home on a two-run single from Muhammad.

Enterprise went quietly in the seventh to force the “if necessary” game.

In the second game, two-out rallied led to four runs for New Brockton, the difference in the 9-5 game.

Enterprise appeared ready to disrupt the familiar storyline as they tagged New Brockton ace Hendrix for three runs in the first

Heather Spillers struck out, but a wild pitch allowed her to reach base.

Jostlyn Higgerson drew a walk, and Tindol followed with a single.

Baer delivered the big blow, socking a hit to the outfield.

The ball appeared to take a funny bounce away from New Brockton outfielder Muhammad.

The triple allowed Spillers, Higgerson and Tindol to cross home plate.

New Brockton, though, answered with four runs off of Enterprise ace Higgerson in the second inning.

Smith drew a walk and scored on an RBI single from Dannley Mock.

Aubrey Hawkins followed with a triple to score Mock, and Hawkins scored when Kerrigan beat out an infield hit.

Kerrigan stole second and scored the first of New Brockton’s two-out tallies when Enterprise made a defensive miscue.

New Brockton’s two-out magic continued in the third inning as Holloway singled.

Smith followed with a single, and Holloway scored on a wild pitch.

Freese brought home Smith with another single, and New Brockton led 6-3.

In the fourth inning, New Brockton showcased its baserunning ability.

Hawkins singled and advanced to second when Chelsey Scott hit Kerrigan with a pitch.

Hawkins and Kerrigan executed a double-steal, and groundouts from Dunaway and Lindsey brought both home to put New Brockton up 8-3.

New Brockton ended their scoring in the fifth as Holloway doubled with two outs.

After a Smith walk, Holloway scored when Freese smacked another RBI single.

Enterprise tried to fight back in the fifth as Hendrix hit Forehand with a pitch. She later scored on a wild pitch.

Enterprise tried one last rally in the bottom of the seventh as Tindol reached second on an error.

A wild pitch allowed Tindol to advance to third, and she scored on a groundout from Baer.

Singles from Williams and Forehand kept the inning alive, but Hendrix retired the next two batters to salvage the championship.

“We just struggled. We just weren’t ready. We came out flat, and New Brockton came ready to play,” said John Summers, Enterprise Belles head coach.

“(It was) determination,” New Brockton Belles head coach said of the win. “It’s the winner that’s in them. A lot of people say ‘Gamecock Pride,’ but you’ve got to mean it. You’ve got to show it.”

New Brockton advances to the District 6 Tournament in Greenville, where they will face host Greenville Saturday.

Last year, New Brockton lost both games in the district tournament, but Stuckey believes the team will do better this year.

“Last year, Cottonwood put in a fast pitcher, and we hit here. then they put in one that couldn’t break a window, and we fell apart. We played too many games last year,” he said.

Stuckey added his team also has six pitchers, which will allow them to have good pitching throughout a long tournament.

Enterprise 5, New Brockton 4

Enterprise forced New Brockton to win twice Monday by taking a 5-4 win Saturday.

New Brockton took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Freese and Mock walked. RBI groundouts from Sloan Cotter and Kaitlyn Crosby scored Freese and Mock.

Fielding miscues plagued New Brockton in the sixth as they surrendered four runs.

Jaretta Wright was hit by a pitch, and she scored and an error that allowed Kendall Kelly on base.

Kelly scored on another error, and Spillers and Higgerson both scored on wild pitches.

New Brockton tried to come back in the seventh as Muhammad walked.

After two stolen bases, she scored on a Holloway single.

Holloway scored on an error on a hit from Emily Smith, but Smith was called out due to the commit rule.

A baserunner must either commit to stealing or returning back to her base when a pitcher is in the circle with possession of the softball.

Higgerson retired one more batter to save the 5-4 win.