Courtney Pearson pitched Enka to a 13-1 win in Saturday’s second round of the NCHSAA 3-A softball playoffs in Candler.
CANDLER – Enka softball players had a strict curfew on prom night.
And they were up bright and early the morning after for a session in the batting cages. None of this surprises senior Courtney Pearson, not even remotely.
“Whether there was a curfew or not, everyone would have done what their supposed to,” Pearson said.
“It’s great to have fun at the prom, but we all know what’s most important.”
The Sugar Jets definitely looked to be on the same page Saturday. They showed no ill effects from the social outing the night before. On the contrary, the defending state champs plated six first-inning runs to rout Reynolds, 13-1, in the second round of the NCHSAA 3-A playoffs.
Payton Trantham’s grand slam in the fifth inning ended the third game of the season between the two Mountain Athletic Conference teams.
Fifth-seeded Enka (20-3) will be back home either Tuesday or Wednesday against No. 13 Cox Mill (19-6) out of Concord.
“It’s about time our bats woke up,” Sugar Jets coach Jennifer Kruk said.
“We still left some baserunners out there, but a lot of kids stepped up today. We’ve been working on some things with our hitting and the girls have taken it to heart.”
The top of Enka’s order got the job done. Leadoff Kloyee Anderson and No. 2 batter Claire Crout each had three hits. Trantham, Danielle Harris, Mariah Foxworth and Whitney Fletcher added two apiece.
Fletcher’s two-run double was the biggest blow in the first inning. Crout and Addison Harris also contributed two RBIs each. Trantham’s grand slam was the fourth homer of the season for the Sugar Jets third baseman. She turned on an inside fastball to trigger the 10-run mercy rule.
“Starting the game the way we did gave everyone some confidence,” Trantham said.
“It means a lot to know we’re going to be home again (for the third round). We love our fan support.”
Pearson carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning and struck out five Rockets (15-7). The last of those strikeouts came with the bases loaded in the top of the fifth.
Pinch hitter Jessica Utter drove in Reynolds’ only run with an RBI single in the fourth inning. Cami McLaughlin, Maitland Moore and Callie Harris also had singles.
“The bottom line is you can’t give a good team as many runs as we did today,” Rockets coach Larry Brow said.
“You have to play flawless ball to beat a team like Enka. It was a great year for us, especially our seniors. We’ve won 60-something games together and we wish them the best.”
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