GREENSBORO, N.C. – Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh with two on and one out, Enka senior first baseman Addison Harris stepped into the box and drove the ball out of the park, lifting the Sugar Jets to a 5-3 win in game two of the 3A Softball State Championship series. The walk-off home run also delivered a series sweep and back-to-back State Championships for Enka. Harris was named the series M.V.P. for her heroics.
The last chance rally for the Jets started with a lead off single by Brittany Fletcher which Kloyee Anderson followed up with a single of her own. After Claire Crout grounded out back to the pitcher, Harris rose to the occasion driving a 1-0 pitch out of the park.
Enka led most of the game, jumping on the board early with a run in the bottom of the first as Anderson led off with a single and came around to score on a one-out single by Harris. They added another run in the fourth with a lead-off single by Payton Trantham who came around on a throwing error to give the Jets a 2-0 lead.
The Falcons would not go down without a fight as they battled back in the top of the sixth with a pair of runs to tie the game. Taylor Puetz doubled to lead off the inning, which Abbi Walton followed with a single of her own to put runners on the corners with no one out. Connor Vinson drilled an RBI-single to trim the lead to 2-1. Then Hannah Vinson knotted the score at two with an RBI-single of her own.
C.B. Aycock briefly nabbed the lead in the top of the seventh as Cassandra Lassiter led off the inning with a single then stole second base to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Connor Vinson knocked in her second run of the afternoon with a two-out single to give the Falcons their first lead of the day at 3-2.
Enka’s sweep claims the school’s third fast-pitch state championship in the 22nd year of the fast-pitch championships. It is the first time the Sugar Jets have won back-to-back titles in the sport.