A North Duplin batter sends a pitch to the outfield in Thursday’s game against the Wayne Christian Eagles. The Lady Rebels ended the game with a 17-7 thumping of their opponent. (Photo by Sharon Holmes)
CALYPSO — In a highly anticipated rematch between two formidable softball teams, the North Duplin Lady Rebels emerged victorious Thursday night against the Wayne Christian School Eagles with a commanding 17-7 win. The game, held at North Duplin High School, featured high winds at times, and a few showers that made play a bit difficult.
Wayne Christian School Eagles, with a solid 9-2 record coming into the matchup, wasted no time in getting on the board. Taking advantage of an early error by North Duplin in the first inning, Eagles sophomore A.J. Verme and senior Maddy Sutton both crossed home, setting the tone for a competitive game. However, their lead was short-lived as the Lady Rebels quickly rallied back in the bottom half, with junior Addy Higginbotham doubling and later scoring on an error.
In the top half of the third inning, WCS tacked on two more runs through a combination of savvy base-running and capitalizing on a Rebel error. Eagles centerfielder Maddy Sutton once again found her way around the base paths, joined by sophomore Leia Mokus. After two and a half innings, Wayne Christian held a 4-1 lead.
It would be their last.
The bottom of the third inning proved to be the turning point of the game, as North Duplin unleashed an impressive offensive barrage. North Duplin’s Lady Rebels added 6 runs in the bottom of the third, with seven straight hits before the Eagles slowed the Rebels attack by catching freshman Hannah Gonzales attempting to steal third. The heart of the lineup for North Duplin again delivered in the bottom of the fourth, with Higginbotham hitting her third double on the evening and scoring on a blooper to right field by senior Reece Outlaw, who was later brought home by a line drive from sophomore Lilly Fulghum.
Along with a short rain shower, the fifth inning brought one last offensive push by Wayne Christian School. A few wild pitches found two runners in scoring position for the Eagles, with a wild pitch bringing Verme in along with a sac-fly by senior Ella Fox scoring Sutton. Mokus scored moments later for the Eagles, taking the score to 9-7 in favor of the Rebels. However, this offensive effort was squashed when Higginbotham and freshman Abigeal Norris shut down an attempted steal home, and junior Iala Overton secured out number three on a pop-up to center field.
The floodgates opened again for the Rebels in the bottom of the fifth, with three batters hit by pitches before Higginbotham stepped into the batter’s box for her fourth at-bat of the night and cleared a grand slam over the center field wall, taking the score to 13-7.
Iala Overton got on base as Wayne Christian’s Sutton suffered a game-ending injury in center field and was brought home on a triple by Outlaw. Following that at-bat, Fulghum stepped into the box and delivered her fourth home run of the season for the Lady Rebels. At the end of 5, North Duplin held a 16-7 advantage.
Wayne Christian School ran out of gas in the sixth inning and failed to mount any kind of response. Rather anti-climatically, after Eagles pitcher Addison Mitchell loaded up the bases with walks, the winning run for North Duplin came from Iala Overton being hit by a pitch and pushing the Rebels advantage to 10.
The victory not only avenged North Duplin’s previous loss to Wayne Christian but also reaffirmed their status as a force to be reckoned as the end of the regular season and playoffs begin to come into focus. Both teams appear to be in good position to make a solid march into their postseasons.
North Duplin heads into the weekend focusing on a busy schedule to come, with three games in as many days starting April 16, when the Rebels will host conference foe Lakewood High School at 6 p.m.
