Enka softball repeated as NCHSAA 3-A champions on Saturday at UNC Greensboro
Enka softball repeated as NCHSAA 3-A champions on Saturday at UNC Greensboro
Enka softball swept C.B. Aycock, 2-0, in the NCHSAA 3-A softball championship series.
Enka softball repeated as NCHSAA 3-A champions on Saturday at UNC Greensboro.
GREENSBORO – Something about UNC Greensboro brings out the best in the Harris sisters.
Enka senior Addison Harris got every bit of an inside fastball Saturday afternoon, hitting it off the scoreboard for a three-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The first baseman and Mars Hill recruit was mobbed by her teammates at home plate. She and the Sugar Jets are back-to-back NCHSAA 3-A softball champions after beating C.B. Aycock, 5-3, in 90-degree heat.
Enka swept the best-of-three series to become the first Western North Carolina fast-pitch program since Owen (1999 and 2000) to repeat as a state champion.
Harris went 3-for-4 and was named the series’ most valuable player. Her older sister, Jordan, received the same award in 2015 and will be a future teammate at Mars Hill.
“I’m so glad I could do it for my teammates and my community,” Harris said. “This is such an amazing feeling. It’s the best experience I’ve ever had.”
Sugar Jets coach Jennifer Kruk was part of previous Enka fast-pitch state championships as a player (1996) and coach (2015).
“I almost threw up at home plate,” Kruk said jokingly. “(Aycock) is a very good team. We just battled all day long.”
The Sugar Jets (26-3) left the bases loaded in the first inning but were still able to grab an early 1-0 lead. Alabama recruit Kloyee Anderson led off with a single, stole second and then came home on an RBI single from Harris.
Enka expanded its lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning when Courtney Pearson’s chopper to shortstop was misplayed.
Aycock (29-4) tied things up in the sixth and briefly took a 3-2 lead by plating a run in the top of the seventh. Anderson and Brittany Fletcher got on base in the bottom of the seventh to set the table for Harris.
Pearson (21-1) won nearly 70 games in her varsity career and got another seven-inning victory in the circle Saturday.
Enka senior Addison Harris.
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