Although the Clarkdale-Enterprise rivalry predates Dylan Stroud, that little fact hasn’t stopped the Enterprise junior from putting his stamp on it.

Stroud threw his second no-hitter of the season Friday night to lift visiting Enterprise to a 7-1 victory over Clarkdale. Stroud also added a team-high three RBIs and went 2-for-3 at the plate, to go along with seven strikeouts and seven walks on the mound.

“He just pitched outstanding tonight — he just threw really, really well,” Enterprise coach John Welch said. “He walked a few, but that happens too, but he just threw extremely well tonight and I was extremely pleased with him on the mound.”

Stroud, who also bashed two home runs against Clarkdale earlier this week, said he glanced at the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth and noticed he was in the midst of throwing a no-hitter.

“Every inning after the fifth inning, I went in there and I prayed, and just asked God to let me get this no-hitter tonight,” Stroud said.

With Clarkdale runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Stroud hurled a pitch to Clarkdale’s Harvey Griffin. Griffin caught the ball with his bat and grounded into a double play to Enterprise third baseman Zach Brewster. Stroud yelled in celebration, and soon after was swallowed by the sea of his teammates near the Enterprise dugout who shared hugs with him.

“It felt amazing,” Stroud said. “(Zach) has worked hard to get better all year, and it felt good.”

Stroud’s performance won’t soon be forgotten at Clarkdale. It was the first no-hitter thrown against a Scott Gibson-led Clarkdale team. 

“That’s one of the best outings I’ve seen a high school guy have against us in a long time,” Clarkdale coach Scott Gibson said. “You just tip your hat to it — that’s what I told our guys.”

Dalton Baxley was 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, as he ended the night with two doubles and a triple. Trey Beech went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including a double. 

In the top of the first, Stroud hit an RBI single while Beech contributed a two-RBI double to give Enterprise a 3-0 lead. 

Stroud singled in Seth Williams in the top of the second to extend the lead to 4-0, and Baxley smacked an RBI double in the top of the fifth.

Ridge Kidd plated Jackson Morrow with an RBI double in the top of the fifth, and Stroud scored Baxley with a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth.

Cal Culpepper gave Clarkdale its lone run after scoring on a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth.

“We competed all night long,” Gibson said. “Harvey Griffin went out there and this is his first career start, and I thought he competed. But Stroud just overmatched us all night. The whole night’s about him. Tip your hat to him, and like I said, (it’s) one of the best performances I’ve seen here on this field against us.”

Friday’s win caps a 8-0 Region 5-2A regular season for Enterprise, and Enterprise enters the postseason as Region 5-2A’s No.1 seed for the fourth consecutive season. It’ll draw North Forrest at home next Friday in the postseason.

“Our motto is, ‘Don’t wish, just work,’” Stroud said. “Don’t wish for it, you just go after it. We’ve gotten out in the second round the past two years, so our goal is to get past there and go win a state championship.”

Up next: Enterprise (15-9, 8-0) travels to Newton County on Monday. Clarkdale (7-13, 4-4) hosts Philadelphia on Tuesday.