LAKE WACCAMAW — Kasey Jones pulled out her cleats, laced them up and gazed toward the softball field before practice started Wednesday afternoon.She put her head in her hands.
“Last night can’t be my last home game,” the North Duplin senior said after a disappointing loss to East Columbus on Tuesday.
Jones and her teammates get another shot.
The Rebels erupted for nine runs over the final two innings and tripped up the Gators, 12-2, on Thursday evening. The road triumph leveled the best-of-three series at 1-1 in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1A east regional finals.
Due to impending inclement weather predicted this weekend, the teams return to Calypso today for a “winner-take-all” game. First pitch is 6 p.m.
The winner meets west regional champ Union Academy in the state finals.
“I was pleased how we approached the game mentally, that’s the biggest adjustment we had to make,” ND head coach Jaime Kylis said. “I’m proud of how they handled it mentally. We walked in, went about our business and stayed within ourselves.”
East Columbus grabbed a 1-0 lead on a defensive miscue and held the precarious advantage through three innings.
North Duplin came alive in the fourth.
M’chelle Jaco connected on a one-out single and stole second base.
One out later, the freshman outfielder raced home on Riley Hatch’s RBI single. Hatch scored on Addy Higginbotham’s base knock and Reece Outlaw plated Higginbotham with a triple.
The Rebels weren’t done.
They chased starter Ava Jacobs from the mound in the latter stages and rang up runs on the scoreboard. Hatch, Higginbotham and Outlaw — once again — delivered pivotal RBI at-bats that increased the lead to 6-1 in the sixth.
North Duplin added six runs in the seventh.
“We used all of our tools in our offensive tool belt,” said Kylis, whose team collected 16 hits, including eight in the sixth and seventh innings combined. “When we’re rolling on all cylinders, we have a lot of options offensively. We played Rebel ball last night.”
Lilly Fulghum shut down the Gators’ offense.
The right-hander permitted two runs (one earned) on eight hits, issued five walks and collected five strikeouts during her 107-pitch outing. East Columbus (27-3) stranded seven runners with five in scoring position, and left the bases loaded in the fourth.
Fulghum notched three putouts and five assists defensively.
First baseman Ady Spence collected 11 putouts. Jones picked off a runner in the first inning and tagged out a runner at the plate on Hatch’s assist in the sixth inning.
“Our defense was really strong,” Kylis said. “I think Lilly threw a really great great. You know, defense has been a strong point for us all season. I feel that’s going to be steadfast tonight.”
Higginbotham emerged as the offensive leader with four hits and four RBI. Hatch finished 3-for-5 with three RBI, while Outlaw (two RBI) and Jaco supplied two hits apiece.
Fulghum, Jones, Spence, Sarah Thomas Tucker and Iala Overton each contributed one hit. Fulghum and Overton each drove in a run.
North Duplin (22-3) seeks its first regional title since 2015 and third overall in program history. The Rebels were the 1A state runner-up to Murphy in 1989 when schools played slow-pitch.
