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By Ron Marvel

Softball

The Jr. Lady Rangers look like a team with their eyes set on doing damage come the first week of May. They displayed strong pitching, hitting and baserunning Tuesday night. One could add fielding, but their pitching has been so on point lately that real fielding opportunities were hard to come by.

Unaka Middle School improved to 10-1 with a conference win at Winged Deer Park over the Jr. Lady Bucs.

Unaka jumped out to a 13-1 lead after the first inning, collecting eight hits and six walks. The big blow came off the bat of Callie Vaughn, who tripled to deep center, followed by a Mackenzie Grindstaff double that plated two runs. Before the Jr. Lady Rangers’ faithful were comfortable in their seats, it was 7-0. Another Z. Miller double to left made it 10-0. In total, Unaka sent 18 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first and cruised from there.

On the mound, Kelsey Pasquale threw three innings, gave up just two infield hits, one earned run and struck out nine. Seventh-grade catcher Z. Miller, who frames pitches like a high schooler, finished the night with three hits. Vaughn and Grindstaff also had three hits apiece, while Kiley Natusch added two hits and three RBIs.

The Jr. Lady Rangers have a busy weekend ahead. They will travel to Ross Robinson on Friday and then look forward to a rematch with Ridgeview — the only team to beat them this season.

Elizabethton 11, Tennessee High 6 — Winners of 12 of their last 13, the Lady Cyclones picked up another big win. They were sparked by leadoff hitter Sadie Williams, who hit a two-run homer in the second inning to give Elizabethton a 3-0 lead en route to a 7-0 advantage by the bottom of the fourth.

The Lady Vikings scored five runs in the top of the sixth, but it was too little, too late, as Elizabethton improved to 13-2 on the season.

Lily McDuffie got the win for the Lady Cyclones, going 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and scattering eight hits. Brooklyn Sparks and Adrian Heading collected two hits apiece. Sparks also drove in three runs. Lacey Gobble added two hits and closed out the game on the mound.

 

Baseball

Happy Valley 4, Johnson County 3 — Grady Gould was strong on the mound in the Warriors’ win over the Longhorns, going 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) and striking out seven. Ty Johnson came on in relief and struck out the side in the seventh inning to end the game.

Lane Parker collected two hits, and Jamie Esterline scored twice.

Chuckey-Doak 12, Hampton 10
Chuckey-Doak 12, Hampton 4

Game 1 — The Bulldogs dropped the first game after being tied 10-10 going into the final inning. Noah Nicholls led Hampton at the plate, going 3-for-4. Chase Davenport added two hits. Elisha Henson went 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs in the loss.

Game 2 — Fielding errors hurt the Bulldogs in the second game, as the Knights scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth. Henson, Jade Kuhn, Jamie Turbyfill and Gabe Lyons each collected two hits. The combination of Cade Nelson and Lyons looked solid on the mound, giving up just three earned runs and striking out two.

Elizabethton 8, Tennessee High 5 — The Cyclones won their 11th straight game behind four hits from Rhett Slagle. Carter Reece came on in relief of Bryson Rowland, who threw three innings and gave up three runs. Reece allowed one earned run and struck out four.

Leading 5-4, Elizabethton added three runs in the bottom of the fourth, sparked by a J.D. Hooks base hit, and never looked back. Steven Meadows went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Rowland added two hits. The Cyclones collected seven stolen bases in the game.