Huge 7th inning ensures victory
Candler – Down to their last three outs, it was gut check time for the Lady Knights.
Robbinsville (3-0, 1-1) trailed Enka (2-1) 11-7, as March 7’s trip to suburban Asheville reached the top of the seventh. But the Sugar Jets could not have been prepared for the crash that followed: nine Lady Knight runs on four hits were aided nicely by
Enka’s pitching staff hitting a large pocket of turblence – issuing six walks to help lift Robbinsville past the stunned Jets 16-11.
“I love playing these guys,” said head coach Billy Knight. “Coach (Jennifer) Kruk is one of my favorite coaches to compete against. Her teams are always well-prepared and tough to beat.
“It was really an ugly game between two good programs that expect to win every time they take the field. But we have some girls that really hate to lose. And if we were gonna go down, we were gonna go down fighting. Once we got rolling, I knew Enka was in trouble.”
Naomi Taylor, Memory Frapp and Payton Odom were each issued free boarding passes by Haley Fish to begin the segment, with an Ella Atwell flyout mixed in-between. Anna Williams then drew a walk with the bases loaded to plate Taylor, before Enka summoned freshman Etta Dezio to try and pull the nose up.
Unfazed, Zoie Shuler ripped a single to drive in Frapp. Suri Watty was then credited with the second RBI of the inning via a walk, with courtesy runner Sydney Adams jogging home. Sophie Roberts followed with a 2-run hit that allowed Williams and Shuler to dash home, pushing Robbinsville ahead 12-11 and continuing her phenomenal start to the campaign in the process.
Later with two outs, Taylor doubled home Watty and courtesy runner Delaney Brooms. Taylor soon came in on an error, before Adams capped the fun with an RBI double of her own, scoring Frapp.
The outburst came after a pair of 3-run innings earlier in the game for Robbinsville.
Roberts hit her second home run of the year in as many games to help liftoff the Lady Knights in the top of the first; she collected her fourth of a team-best six RBIs after being plunked with the bases loaded in the fifth. Shuler later scored in the segment on a fielder’s choice, with Watty crossing the dish on an error two at-bats later.
Williams dashed home on a wild pitch in the sixth, as well. She tripled in the game, as did Shuler.
For its part, Enka put the heat on Robbinsville with a 6-run bottom of the fourth, which erased a 3-2 deficit and put the Sugar Jets ahead 8-3 at that point. The Jets had four doubles in the loss: two from Gracie Merrell, as well as one each off the bats of Kelsie West and Haley Fish.
Taylor collected the win, logging a combined 4 2/3 innings of work.
Devilish debut
Robbinsville -- Tuesday ushered in the beginning of the Smoky Mountain Conference docket, with the Lady Knights welcoming Swain County (2-2, 0-1).
Bolstered by Roberts’ third long ball in as many games -- and Shuler’s first homer of the season -- Robbinsville staved off the Lady Devils in a 7-2 win.
“I came to Robbinsville because there was more here,” said Roberts, who transferred from Andrews in the offseason. “I saw how much energy was here. I loved that here, it’s all about winning.”
“I spent the whole summer hitting. I hit hard because I can’t run (laughs).
Roberts sent her opposite-field shot over the fence in the second, with Shuler’s coming to lead off the bottom of the fourth. The launches produced Robbinsville’s final offense for the evening, after Frapp doubled home Shuler and Watty in the bottom of the first; Caylor singled in Frapp later in the inning; and Shuler preceded Roberts’ homer in the second with a hit to score Sydney Adams.
Inside the circle, it was all Taylor (3-0). The junior hurler continued her fine start to the campaign by striking out seven Devil hopefuls and carrying a no-no into the sixth inning.
Swain’s only strike came after Adisyn Jenkins broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff double to begin the frame. Kaley Parker later grounded out to drive in Jenkins, before Carley Teesateskie went on to rope a single that allowed Molleigh Woodard to scamper home.