MOUNT OLIVE — The North Duplin Rebels defeated the East Columbus Gators 13-2 on May 13 to extend their winning streak to 15 games in-a-row and advance to the fourth round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 1A state playoffs.
The Rebels got off to a perfect start to the game thanks to Lilly Fulghum who not only got the team off to an excellent start defensively with a shutout top of the first inning but also got the team going on offense when, in the bottom of the inning with one out and two runners on base, she crushed a three-run home run to put her team up 3-0.
Fulghum said, going into the game, she was aiming to get off to a strong start at the circle and at the plate to fire up the rest of her team.
“I was just like (let’s) get the energy started because once the energy starts, we don’t stop,” Fulghum said.
The energy that Fulghum brought to both the mound and at the circle proved to be contagious, and in the bottom of third inning, Addy Higginbotham also crushed a home run to put the Rebels up 4-0.
Just when it seemed as if the Rebels were going to easily run away with the game though, East Columbus sophomore Jenna King crushed a solo home run to begin the top of the fourth inning to make the game’s score 4-1. Later in the inning with two outs, East Columbus senior Chynna Patrick also hit a solo home run to cut the Rebels lead to 4-2.
North Duplin responded quickly to the runs scored by the Gators, and in the bottom of the fourth with no outs, Sara Thomas Tucker hit an RBI single to score Marissa Bernal from third to make the score 5-2. After a walk by Gabby Zamudio and a groundout into a fielder’s choice by M’chelle Jaco, the Rebels then scored again when Lala Overton hit an RBI to score Zamudio and give her team a 6-2 lead.
During the next at-bat, Jaco came home to score on error by the East Columbus catcher, and then Overton came home to score when on an RBI groundout by Higginbotham to give the Rebels an 8-2 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the scoring onslaught by North Duplin continued when, with two outs, Overton hit a pop up that should have ended the inning but instead resulted in a East Columbus error which allowed Bernal to score and give the Rebels a 9-2 lead. The Gators would go on to regret the defensive error as the very next at-bat ended with Higginbotham hitting an RBI double to increase her team’s lead to 10-2. The Rebels were not done scoring though as Reece Outlaw stepped up to the plate next to crush a three-run homer to give her team a 13-2 lead and end the game as a result of the 10-run mercy rule.
Fulghum, who was the game’s winning pitcher, finished with just two hits and two runs allowed and seven strikeouts in five innings pitched. She also went two for three at the plate with a single and a three-run homer.
North Duplin head coach Jaime Kylis said, after the game, that she was proud of the way Fulghum led the team not only by hitting a home run early in the game, but by showing maturity at the circle and not panicking after she gave up two in the top of the fourth inning.
“Lilly did great,” Kylis said. “She’s such a competitor … she can … give up a home run here and there, and there’s no panic. She just stays in her gameplan and works through her stuff, and she’s really fun to watch.”
Kylis also said she was happy with the way the entire team came into the game both calm and confident.
“We were relaxed. We weren’t uptight,” Kylis said. “Looking at our previous game, we were a little bit uptight not knowing what to expect, but we played this team before so we kind of knew going in what we were going to get … we play better when we are loose.”
With the win, North Duplin improved to 17-1 overall this season and advanced to the fourth round of the NCHSAA state playoffs. East Columbus finished the season with a record of 18-8 overall with the loss.
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