The Falcons kept their Liberty Division hopes alive with a 2-1 win over Northern Burlington.

BURLINGTON Twp. — They say the worst thing you can do is believe your press clippings.

Fortunately Mackenzie Fitzpatrick doesn’t. She saw something a few weeks ago she really wanted to correct, and Tuesday, she did.

It came just before Fitzpatrick launched a two-run homer in the first inning that carried the Burlington Township softball team to a 2-1 win over Northern Burlington in Burlington County Scholastic League Liberty Division play.

Northern Burlington’s Nicole Bondoc led off the game with an infield single, as she did in the Greyhounds’ 2-0 win on April 11, and tried to steal second, as she had before. But instead of an error and the game’s first run, the result was a strong throw from Fitzpatrick, and the game’s first out.

“We might have read (the) article from the last game,” Fitzpatrick said. “And saw where she said lefties are easier to steal on, so we knew as soon as she got on — you know what? She’s really fast. Let’s throw her out. Thankfully Kylie (Ekelburg, the shortstop) was there, the throw was there, and it was definitely a huge momentum shift. They shut down after that.”

Falcons pitcher Bailey Enoch struck out the next two hitters, then drew a walk to lead off the home first. Northern pitcher Haylei Archer followed that free pass with two strikeouts, but Fitzpatrick followed with a home run to left field.

“At first I was zoning outside,” Fitzpatrick said. “I wanted to just go (opposite field) to hit her in, but when it went to a full count, I was just kind of looking for anything close. I didn’t want to go down looking. It was a nice, high inside pitch and I just went with it.”

She didn’t think she’d gotten it all, but it turned out she got enough.

“I honestly thought it was a pop-up to left, and I was really mad at myself,” Fitzpatrick said. “But then I heard all the dads yelling. I was like oh, I guess it’s over. I was pretty happy, too, because I haven’t been hitting as many as I usually do. It was a good confidence builder.”

The Greyhounds had some opportunities to respond, but Township was equal to all of them. Hannah Alexander hit a one-out single in the second and moved up on a wild pitch, but again, Enoch responded with back-to-back Ks.

Alexa Blue hit a one-out single in the fourth and Julia Mayernik followed with a walk, but Enoch (7 hits, 11 strikeouts) snagged Alexander’s line drive and dealt to first for an inning-ending double play.

“Yesterday we played St. Joe’s and (assistant coach Heidi Roman) told us she wanted us to turn more double plays,” Enoch said. “So it was a little goal. I just had to react to the ball and then find my teammate, covering the bag.

Enoch notched two more strikeouts with runners on first and third in the fifth.

“Everything was working,” said Enoch. “I know I’m throwing my best when everything is working for me. I told Mackenzie before the game, I want to keep batters off balance and just throw a lot of everything.”

The Greyhounds finally broke through in the sixth, when Mayernik hit a two-out double, Alexander walked and Archer rapped an RBI single to right, but Enoch induced a ground ball to end the inning at that point.

After Riley Gripp doubled to lead off the seventh, Enoch handed a pop-up, then a tricky comebacker from Bondoc, then ended the game with her 11th strikeout.

Northern Burlington was 2-for-11 with two walks with runners in scoring position. The Greyhounds stranded seven runners and fell to 10-4 overall and 5-1 in the Liberty despite a six-inning complete game from Archer, who allowed just three hits and struck out 14.

“We didn’t help her out offensively, to get her the runs we needed,” Northern Burlington coach Tara Corcoran said. “But Enoch — give her credit. She pitched a heck of a game as well. It’s always a competition with Archer and Enoch.”

Northern Burlington is still in line for a share of the Liberty crown, which it can earn with home wins against Moorestown Wednesday and Bordentown Friday.

Burlington Township (13-3, 6-1) has a clearer path. The Falcons can clinch a share with a win at Bordentown Thursday.

“We already saw Bordentown in the Hammonton Tournament, so we’ll see them for a third time,” Falcons coach Nicolette Cannizzaro said. “So that’s our goal — win that to at least get a share of the division for sure.”