Enterprise's Grace Leader forces out Northeast Lauderdale's Brianna Robbins as she looks to throw to first base Thursday night.

Enterprise saw a 5-1 lead evaporate as Northeast Lauderdale forced extra innings, but the Lady Bulldogs managed two runs in extra innings to escape with a 7-5 win in Thursday night prep softball action.

The Lady Trojans scored two runs each in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to tie the game, and Enterprise head coach Davey Dewitt said it was frustrating to see his team lose a 5-1 lead, though he was pleased with how they got the win in extras.

“That was a good ball game,” Dewitt said. “I hate that we lost the lead. We kind of relaxed, and we’ve done that about four or five times this year, where we got a good lead and then set back and relaxed and thought we had the game won in the fourth inning, and we didn’t. Tonight, they came back and tied it back up, and we had to fight back.

“They found a way to win, and that’s what I’m proud of. We got some big hits in the extra inning… and that’s what I’m proud of. They didn’t just quit; they wanted to win it and found a way to win it.”

The Lady Bulldogs started the game off strongly, jumping out to a 3-0 advantage in the top of the first. Hannah Herrington had an RBI single to score Sarah Brannan, and Faith Guy smashed a double that scored two more runs for Enterprise.

Northeast Lauderdale made it 3-1 in the bottom of the first when Brianna Robbins had an RBI single that drove in Carrie Grace Baty. The Lady Bulldogs got the run back in the top of the second when Brannan had an RBI single, making it 4-1 Enterprise after two innings.

Enterprise scored its fifth run of the game in the top of the fifth inning when Maycee Knight came in from third after Herrington reached on an error. In the bottom of the fifth, a throwing error by Enterprise allowed two Lady Trojan runners to score, cutting the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to 5-3.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Trojans made it 5-5 when Tatiyana Cole had an RBI single and Robbins hit into an RBI fielder’s choice.

“My girls never gave up,” Northeast Lauderdale head coach Tim Maloney said. “I said right before the game, ‘Give me all you’ve got, 100-percent effort the whole entire game,’ and they did that. They never gave up. Even when we were down, they played as hard as they could every single inning.”

In the top of the eighth, Brannan began the inning on second base as part of extra-inning softball rules, and Knight scored her on a double to make it 6-5 Enterprise. The Lady Bulldogs scored one more run when Herrington singled in Knight, and Enterprise pitched around several baserunners in the bottom of the frame to come away with the win.

Though they only managed five hits, Northeast Lauderdale drew nine walks and had one hit batsman, and Maloney said he was happy to see his hitters stay patient.

“When I saw their girl was struggling, I told them to take until they had a strike,” Maloney said. “Most of them were doing that, and I was going to make them throw pitches when they had to throw them.”

Emma Herrington got the win in relief for Enterprise, tossing four innings and giving up two unearned runs on one hit. She walked three and struck out three. Hannah Herrington got the start, pitching four innings and surrendering three earned runs on four hits with six walks.

“I thought Hannah threw a great game,” Dewitt said. “Through four innings, she was in the running for the win with a 5-1 lead. Emma’s been strong all year, she just wasn’t on top of it tonight, but like I said, we found a way to win.”

Baty started in place of the usual Lady Trojans starter, Robbins, whom Maloney wanted to rest for Friday’s regional matchup against Greene County. She suffered the loss, going eight innings and giving up seven runs, five earned, on nine hits with three strikeouts and a walk. 

“She did well,” Maloney said. “She’s my No. 2, and I’m trying to get her ready for next year (after Robbins graduates). Last time Bri came out and pitched against Enterprise, they hit her pretty hard, so I think throwing a different speed, they kind of struggled with her, because Carrie Grace is a lot slower, so that speed change kept them off balance and kept us in the game for most of the game.”

Guy finished 2-for-2 for Enterprise, and Knight was 3-for-4 at the plate. Brannan went 2-for-4 to pace Enterprise. No one for Northeast Lauderdale had multiple hits.

Northeast Lauderdale is 2-3 in area play going into Friday’s game against Greene County on the road. Enterprise (15-4, 5-0) will play at Jones County Junior College Saturday in a tournament against Puckett and North Pike.