There are only four softball teams remaining in the MHSAA 1A bracket and one of them calls Lincoln County home.

The Enterprise Yellow Jackets (16-11) punched their ticket to the 1A semifinals with a 2-1 series win over Nanih Waiya in the three-game matchup.

Just like they did in the prior round against Sacred Heart, the Jackets went down 1-0 after losing the opener 7-4 at home to Naniya Waiya on Thursday.

Head coach Alicia Smith and her squad bounced back to win game two 7-2 on Saturday. That game took two days to complete as the faithful fans of Enterprise softball had to make two trips to Winston County over two days due to a weather delay.

With the threat of more wet weather during this week, EAC played game three on Sunday and the visiting Warriors didn’t even have a prayer, losing 10-0 in the series clinching win that went five innings. 

Next up for the Yellow Jackets is a three-game series with Stringer (22-3) with a trip to Hattiesburg and the 1A championship series on the line.

Stringer reached the semifinals by defeating Ethel High 2-0 and 12-4 in a series sweep in the last round.

The Red Devils of Stringer and the Jackets faced each other in the regular season back in April, two games won 15-0 and 13-0 by Stringer, a team that made the 1A finals last season before losing to Pine Grove in a series that went to three games.

Stringer is led by senior pitcher Madilyn Graham, a University of Southern Mississippi commit who was named Miss 1A Softball earlier this year.

The weather is supposed to be dicey this week, but game one of the series is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Stringer in Jasper County.

Game two is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Enterprise and if a third game is needed, Stringer will host it at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

The north portion of the 1A bracket has Myrtle (19-5) facing West Union (17-9).

“We have to stay focused on playing our game, keeping our momentum going, and doing the little things right,” said Smith on the week of preparation that her team has had for Stringer. “We are going to take it one game at a time.”

That “one game at a time” mentality has served the Jackets well during the last two weeks.

Seventh-grade pitcher Rainee Falvey struck out seven and walked three while giving up one earned run in the game two victory at Nanih Waiya.

Falvey then kept it trucking with a one-hit, four strikeout performance on Sunday in the clincher.

The bats were hot for EAC on Sunday, as junior infielder Terra Vining hit two doubles, junior Caitlin Case smacked a triple, and senior infielder Natalie Williams belted a home run. All three drove in two runs each while senior infielder Miranda Anderson and eighth-grade outfielder Molly Williamson had one RBI each.

Smith wants her team, which starts one seventh grader (Falvey), two eighth graders (Williamson, Piper Martin), one sophomore (Laney Moree), three juniors (Case, Vining, Isabella Jorda) and two seniors (Anderson, Williams) to stay loose and keep having fun instead of being weighed down by any pressure. Smith is assisted by Mikaela Brister.

“These girls play their best when they are having fun and they have already done things that this program has never done,” said Smith “They have a grit about them and want to keep this season going.”