By Staff
FOUL BALL Clarkdale eighth-grader Ashley Bye fouled off a pitch off then had it come back in front of her during her second at bat against Enterprise on Tuesday. Photo by Kyle Carter/The Meridian Star
By Robby Atkinson / staff writer
Oct. 22, 2003
ENTERPRISE Tradition is something that the Clarkdale Lady Bulldog softball program looks to build on every season. On this night in Clarke County, the Lady Bulldogs took another step toward another potential state championship by taking down Enterprise in three games (15-5, 14-17, 17-3) to capture the 2003 Class 2A South State Championship.
On the flip side of the coin the Enterprise Lady Bulldogs finished what was one of the more magical seasons in school history. The Lady Bulldogs came into the South State Championship series as a severe underdog, but Kacie Roberson has much to look forward to in the future.
In game one Clarkdale used eight runs in the final inning to roll to the 15-5 win. Enterprise did take the lead in the bottom of the third inning thanks to some great hitting from the bottom of the batting order. Baleigh Volking led the inning off with a single and Morgan Robinson followed with a walk to put a pair of runners aboard for Enterprise.
One run came around to score on a double to left center by Kacey Jimmerson and Shannon Creel followed with a sacrifice fly to center to give EHS a 2-0 lead after three innings. Clarkdale answered with a pair of runs in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2. Emily Howard and Sabrina Woodall led the inning off with singles and Ashley Bye drove in one run on a hard single to right. The second Clarkdale run scored on a sacrifice fly by Lindsey Dawkins to knot the game at 2-2.
Clarkdale took control of the game in the fifth inning on the strong hitting of the middle of the lineup. Emily Howard knocked in two runs on a single and Woodall also highlighted the inning with an RBI single. Bethany Spidle also collected a double in the fifth.
Clarkdale finished the scoring barrage in the seventh inning on eight runs led by an RBI single from Megan Potate and a run-scoring single by Savannah Satcher. Enterprise added a pair of runs in the conclusion of the game on a home run by Amanda Parker.
Enterprise got the better of Clarkdale in game two by knocking off the visiting Lady Bulldogs in a slugfest by a final count of 17-14. Clarkdale came right out of the gate and scored five runs in the first inning to take a 5-0 lead. The offense was paced behind a two-run home run by Ashley Bye and a double by Potate. Enterprise fought back with a pair of runs in the second inning on an RBI triple by Robinson and a run scoring single from Jimmerson.
Enterprise took full control of the game with 10 runs in the fifth inning to take a 15-10 lead. The big blow of the inning for Enterprise was a triple from Shannon Creel that scored two runs. Volking also contributed with an RBI single in the big run producing inning for Enterprise.
In the final game of the evening Clarkdale rebounded to secure the series with a 17-3 win. Clarkdale scored five quick runs to open the third game and take a 4-0 lead. Alyssa Bye led the inning off with a single and later crossed the plate thanks to her younger sister Ashley. Howard also got in on the action a produced an RBI single.
Clarkdale continued to pour on the runs in the following inning with six. Woodall had an RBI single and Bethany Spidle knocked in a run on a double. The knockout punch came in the third inning off a grand slam by Howard and give Clarkdale the South State crown. Whitney Drachenberg also got the pitching win in the final game and had three hits to close out the third game.
Enterprise finished their cinderella run with a record of 18-15. Clarkdale will compete for the Class 2A State Championship this Saturday against Mooreville or Hatley..