ERWIN— The Elizabethton Lady Cyclones are the type of softball team that can’t be counted out of a game and just when the opposition thinks they have the black and orange on the ropes that’s the time that the Lady Cyclones rise to the occasion.
The same held true at Lady Blue Devil Diamond on Tuesday afternoon as Unicoi County took a 3-0 lead after four innings of play to see Elizabethton scratch back into the game before putting the Lady Devils on ice with a three-run seventh to secure the big Three Rivers Conference contest.
Elizabethton ran its record to 3-0 overall on the young season— 2-0 in conference play.
“This is probably the hardest competition in this conference,” said Lady Cyclone winning pitcher Lauren Brickey. “At first we were a little nervous you might say, but after they got three runs on us, we just stayed up.
“Someone would get out, and they would tell the next batter coming up to pick them up. We just really had each other’s back this game.”
For the first three innings, the game was moving at break-neck speed as both pitchers were in complete control as Brickey went three up and three down over the first three innings while Lady Devil pitcher Haley Padgett was doing likewise.
Unicoi County finally made some noise in their half of the fourth frame to the tune of three runs.
Halie Hawkins doubled and Rylee Stiltner reached on a bunt single. Neelee Griffith ripped a liner to short that Lady Cyclone shortstop Macie Herrmann couldn’t get a grip on allowing a run to score with two Lady Devils staying on the base path.
Hannah Bowen’s single plated both Stiltner and Griffith for the 3-0 Lady Devil advantage.
The Lady Cyclones shaved a run off the lead in the top of the fifth as Maci West creamed a double. Jessie Cunningham singled with both runners taking a bag on a Padgett wild pitch.
Autumn Hensley worked Padgett for a walk to load the bags full of Lady Cyclone runners.
A sacrifice fly by Allison Riddle scored West making it a 3-1 Lady Blue Devil lead.
After Brickey worked another one-two-three bottom of the fifth, the hurler stepped to the plate in the top of the sixth with two outs and helped her own cause as Brickey smashed a pitch deep over the center field fence. It was her second home run in two days to make it a 3-2 game heading into the final frame after Unicoi County failed to score in their portion of the sixth.
Lady Blue Devil head coach Grady Lingerfelt went to relief pitcher Hannah Bowen after Jessie Cunningham stroked a single to lead off the top of the seventh.
Hensley drew a walk from Bowen to place Lady Cyclones at first and second base with no one out.
A fielder’s choice bunt off the bat of freshman pinch hitter Kaylen Shell led to Cunningham being retired at third.
Riddle had her rally helmet off as the seventh inning was getting ready to begin and it was a good thing as Riddle stepped to the dish and launched a Bowen pitch past the center and right fielder to the fence allowing Hensley and Shell to race home to give the Lady Cyclones their first lead at 4-3.
“The past two games I haven’t been hitting so great,” said Riddle of her game-winning hit. “This time, I was in the dugout, and I was like I am about to get a hit, I am about to get a hit.
“I was just trying to be as confident as I could, and I swung the bat and got the hit. It was great. We are a lot more confident than what we have been in the past, and I think our confidence is going to carry us in the season.”
For good measure, Elizabethton third baseman Abbi McKinney chased courtesy runner Johnson home on a double of her own to give the Lady Cyclones an insurance run at 5-3.
Unicoi County wasn’t about to lie down and play dead as leadoff hitter Bowen reached on a single and Padgett followed with another base knock after a fly-ball out by Savannah Lefever.
Lady Cyclone head coach Ken Hardin went to his ace in the hole in Kellie Cunningham.
Cunningham worked her magic retiring the next two Unicoi County batters to end the game and give the Lady Cyclones the win.
“It’s always a battle, and I try not to panic because the girls will panic if they see me doing that,” said Hardin. “We got great pitching and timely hitting today. It was a total team effort as everyone did something for the team.”
The Lady Cyclones will be back in action today with a JV game at 5 p.m. followed by a varsity game at 7 p.m.