Enterprise is in the middle of a dynastic run in 2A, and junior pitcher Blakely Christiansen has been a part of it from the beginning.
Christiansen pitched just a single strikeout, but her defense held off a rally from No. 2 Duchesne as the No. 1 Wolves secured the 2A state softball championship by beating the Eagles, 7-3. It’s the third state title in Enterprise’s school history, all of which have come since 2019.
Christiansen pitched as a freshman during 2021’s title win.
“Blakely’s been here three times pitching,” Enterprise coach Katye Jones said. “She’s just so mentally tough.”
Her mental toughness aside, Christiansen could hardly hold back the tears after lifting another title over her head on the field in Spanish Fork.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Christiansen said. “We’ve worked so hard for this moment, and we deserve it.”
The Wolves faced the Eagles twice in the tournament, and their last game in the semifinals the day before was a wild one. Some late-game errors and a disputed runner interference no-call helped Enterprise rush past Duchesne in the final two innings for a 5-4 win to make the title game. Duchesne responded by shutting down Parowan the following morning, 3-2, to set up another meeting with the Wolves.
But in Round 2, Enterprise left no doubt.
A huge five-run second inning helped the Wolves build an insurmountable 6-0 lead by the top of the third that made some wonder if a sixth and seventh inning would be needed, especially as Grantsville was run-ruling North Sanpete in the 3A title game the next field over.
Junior infielder Addi Nelson hit a two-RBI home run as part of the second inning. She finished with a game-high four RBI. The home run was the only hit beyond singles for Enterprise the whole game.
After Duchesne stopped the bleeding with three straight fly ball outs in the bottom of the fourth, the Eagles turned it on in the fifth. After managing just two hits in the first four innings, Duchesne popped off three straight singles to suddenly load the bases. Then, a sacrifice fly, followed by another single, got the Eagles on the board and narrowed the lead to 6-2.
The Eagles got another RBI in the fifth inning to make it 6-3, but Enterprise widened the lead again with a run in the bottom of the sixth.
With everything on the line in the top of the seventh, Enterprise walked out and put on a clinic in fielding. For the third time in the game, the Wolves outed Duchesne’s first three batters, capping it off with the third baseman leaping to catch an overhead line drive to seal the win.
“It just made me so happy (to see the catch),” Christiansen said. “We’ve worked on line drives before, and just for her to go all out to get it was amazing.”
Jones said the Wolves had 2022’s championship game still on their minds entering the tournament.
“We still felt it from last year,” Jones said. “They knew they’d have to work really hard. They believed in everything they did, and they did it.”
On the team shirts for Enterprise this season read their motto, “On Purpose, With Purpose.” The Wolves fulfilled their purpose on a cloudy Saturday afternoon, and it’s safe to say the history of Enterprise softball is now.