BELHAVEN — In a game filled with offensive firepower it was a heads up play on defense that allowed the Washington 10U All-Stars to hold off a hard-charging East Beaufort team to take a 13-12 victory in the ENC Babe Ruth 10U championship game on Friday and advance to the state tourney.
Washington entered the top of the sixth and final inning trailing 9-7 but tied the game up when Jordanyia Whitehead singled in the game-tying run. Washington would tack on another four runs to take what appeared to be a sturdy 13-9 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.
However, the East Beaufort All-Stars were not ready to pack things up as they racked up three runs to cut the deficit to 13-12.
With two outs, Washington attempted to throw out an East Beaufort runner who was stealing second but the throw had missed its mark. The runner tried to advance to third, but a heads up play by Whitehead, the center fielder, prevented it. Whitehead scooped up the loose ball and made a strong throw to third baseman Grace Bumpass who applied the tag to get the runner out in close play to end the game in dramatic fashion.
The game was a back-and-forth contest the entire way. The two teams were locked in a 2-2 tie after the first inning, and after two scoreless innings, Washington rallied for five runs in the top of the fourth to go up 7-2.
East Beaufort countered in the home half of the inning with a six-run rally to claim an 8-7 lead. The East Beaufort All-Stars added another run in the fifth to go ahead 9-7 before Washington tallied six in its final at-bat.
“We just told the girls in the last inning, ‘Hey, we need to come out here and get on fire. Let’s get a lead,” Washington coach Joey Winstead said. “And they just came out ready to play and did their thing.”
Savannah Craft pitched the first two innings for Washington, while Mary Emma Holscher threw the final four to get the win.
East Beaufort, who finished the tourney with a 2-2 record, will also advance to the state tourney.
“It feels pretty good (to know the team is going to state),” said East Beaufort coach Michael Smith. “We had some good production up and down our lineup tonight … We just have to cut down on some errors in the field.”

Washington    200    506    —    13
East Beaufort    200    613    —    12
WP: Mary Emma Holscher
Hitting: W — Grace Bumpass 1-3, Mary Emma Holscher 1-4, Kaylee Elks 1-3, Melanie Winstead 2-3, Jordanyia Whitehead 2-3, Sydney O’Neal 1-3, Savannah Craft 1-3, Grace Pastz 1-2; EB — Kathleen S. 1-2, Morgan R. 2-4, Riley N. 1-1, Haley A. 1-3, Brandie 1-1.