EHS stays alive in playoffs

By By Austin Bishop / EMG regional sports director
Oct. 15, 2004
ENTERPRISE Their fingers and toes may have been cold but the Lady Bulldogs' bats were hot on Thursday night, as they rallied to win two straight games over visiting St. John to advance in the MHSAA Class 2A Slow-Pitch Softball Playoffs.
St. John won the first game of the best-of-three series 16-5, but EHS held on to win the second game 10-9 in a thriller and posted a 9-5 win in the deciding game.
Enterprise, now 11-13 for the season, advances to face St. Andrews of Jackson on Saturday afternoon.
St. John appeared dominant in the opener, but the young Lady Bulldogs refused to fold and stayed alive in the playoffs.
After scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning in the third and deciding game, EHS fell behind 5-4 when St. John scored three times in the second and twice in the third.
But in the bottom of the third inning Enterprise got RBI singles from Kristin Gavin and Kara Irby to go up 6-5. The Lady Bulldogs added three key runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a double by Gavin and singles off the bats of Chelsea Jones, Tiffany Taylor, Haley Brooke Smith and Baleigh Volking.
EHS pitcher Summer Robinson only allowed three hits over the last four innings in picking up the win.
Gavin had a double and two singles to lead EHS at the plate in the game. Jones had three singles, and Volking, Bayleigh Creel and Taylor had two hits each.
EHS had 17 hits in the game, while St. John managed nine.
The second game of the series was the key for the Lady Bulldogs. After falling behind 4-1, Enterprise scored four times in the third and five in the fifth.
The big blast in the five-run fifth was a three-run triple by Gavin, followed by an RBI single off the bat of Bayleigh Creel.
Volking had a huge game for EHS, ripping two triples to go with two singles. Amy Tackett had three hits for the winners, while Smith added a pair.
Enterprise, which was the visiting team on the scoreboard in the second of the three games, took a 10-7 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning.
St. John, which finished the season with a 13-4 record, scored two runs and had the bases loaded. The last batter of the game worked the EHS pitcher to full count, but fouled off the pitch for a strikeout to end the game.
The opening game of the day was tied at 4 after three innings, but St. John scored twice in the fifth and added five runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings to take the 11-run win.
Shannon Creel had a triple and single to lead Enterprise in the first game.