ENTERPRISE — The Yellowjackets were six outs away from an upset of 4A North Pike Monday night. A three run inning in the sixth propelled the Jaguars to a 3-2 win despite a hard push at the end to scratch the tying run across the plate for Enterprise. 

Head Coach Austin Hood spoke to his team after the game and told them it was not a performance they should hang their head about. Enterprise had the tying run coming around third but he was thrown out at home in the seventh inning to end the game. 

Sophomore Prewitt Falvey opened up the scoring for Enterprise with an RBI double to get the Jackets a 1-0 lead. Falvey said he just felt confident at the plate as he finished with three hits and two RBIs. 

“It was just something from within and the RBI gave a lot of positive energy,” Falvey said. “The game was heart wrenching at times. Sometimes they would have you on edge but it was a good game. I enjoyed it. There is nothing to hang our heads about.” 

Enterprise had a shutout through five innings. A.J. Raiford pitched a solid outing from the mound striking out seven batters and giving up three hits and zero runs. Out of 99 pitches, Raiford found the strike zone 52 times and walked just five batters. His defense played well behind him to get out of some tight jams. 

Cooper Jordan came in relief and pitched well but was unable to get out of the sixth inning. North Pike got two hits and three runs to take a 3-1 lead. Ryder Martin, a freshman, stepped up to the mound in the seventh inning in a spot where he had to keep the game close. 

He wheeled and dealed from the rubber throwing high velocity pitches. Hood said he was already a hard thrower but the adrenaline of the moment allowed his pitches to pick up speed. Falvey was behind the plate as he threw. 

“That is Ryder. He is wild thing. He throws gas,” Falvey said. “We are a young team and we will be around for a while. I’m proud of those freshmen taking the hill against an experienced team like North Pike. To do that is awesome I think.” 

Falvey stepped up to the plate in a big moment with the game on his shoulders. Two men were on for Enterprise and they needed two runs to tie the game. A perfect pitch to Falvey was ripped for a single into the outfield. 

Both runners tried to score but North Pike caught the tying run by a mile at the plate. Despite the tough ending to the game, Enterprise competed and made the Jaguars earn a win. 

“We are a small school and a lot of people don’t like to see us win. We showed we could compete with bigger schools. We showed that tonight,” Falvey said. “Hood has changed this program a lot. He got us ready and tough. He stresses this on and off the field. Be confident, win every day. I think it will carry us pretty far.”

Hood reminded the team after the game that baseball is a sport of timely hits. North Pike got five hits and at the right times. Enterprise had four hits in the loss. They will need to hit better if they are going to beat any other 4A schools, North Pike will soon be a 5A school. 

“If I call on you, you have to be ready,” Hood said. “I’m proud of you tonight. Your head should not be down right now. We have a long way to go but the future is bright. We have a long way to go but come back tomorrow. We can get back in the win column.”

Enterprise hosts Port Gibson at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night.