ERWIN – Right-hander Kellie Cunningham pitched a six-hit shutout, and the Elizabethton bats cranked out two home runs as the Lady Cyclones defeated Unicoi County 8-0 on Tuesday evening at Lady Devils Diamond.
“It made me feel great to have some runs, and I knew when Kira hit it it was out,” Cunningham said. “My rise ball and screwball were my best pitches today.”
The Lady Cyclones broke through against Unicoi starter Haley Padgett in a big way in the top of the third with five consecutive hits including a grand slam home run by Kira Dillard to spot Elizabethton a 6-0 lead.
Haley Fair singled to open the frame, but Padgett retired the next two hitters uneventfully before the Cyclones delivered five straight base hits. Lauren Brickey, Maci West – an RBI single – Jessica Cunningham, also an RBI hit before Autumn Hensley singled to load the bases.
Dillard battled Padgett for ten pitches – fouling off four straight pitches – before connecting and driving a shot over the right field fence to make it a 6-0 EHS lead.
“I was getting aggravated fouling them off,” Dillard said. “I stayed in there and having my teammates cheer me on in the dugout made me feel good. She put one down the middle, and I just took it where it came from.”
Abbi McKinney went deep against Padgett with one away in the fourth, and head coach Grady Lingrefelt replaced her with sophomore Allee Griffith.
EHS (25-5) tallied another run in the top of the sixth as UC made a pair of infield errors, Dillard collected another hit to load the bases, and a fielder’s choice off the bat of Allison Riddle plated West.
Cunningham finished with six strikeouts and just two walks. Dillard was two-for-four at the dish with four runs batted in, while Jessica Cunningham and West were each one-for-four with an RBI each.
“It has been a team effort for us all year long,” Lady Cyclones head coach Kenneth Hardin said. “If somebody’s down, somebody picks them up, and that’s what you got to do. What can you say about Dillard’s at bat? She kept fouling off good pitches, and of course, you don’t want to walk anyone with the bases loaded. She got one she could handle, and she worked hard for it.”

Three Rivers Conference tournament
Unicoi County High School
Elizabethton 8-0
Elizabethton 006 110 0 – 8 10 1
Unicoi Co. 000 000 0 – 0 6 3
W – K. Cunningham L – H. Padgett
LOB – E 5, UC 9. HR – Dillard, McKinney.

Game Two
Sullivan South 13, Happy Valley 0
Sullivan South sent 15 batters to the plate in the last of the third, scoring 12 runs in a 13-0 rout of Happy Valley that ended the Lady Warriors season. Rachel Deluna hit a two-run homer, and a grand slam home run in the frame for six runs batted in.
Deluna struck first against HV starter Bailey Hardin and then against Callie Davis with the bases juiced. Braylen Pauley drove in two runs with a pair of hits in the stanza as well. Deluna finished three-for-four in the game.
South got on the board in the first frame when Rachel Deluna singled and stole second base. Pitcher Taylor McConnell then drove a ball to deep centerfield where Kate Roberts made an over the shoulder catch. Deluna tagged and scored all the way from second on the play for a 1-0 Lady Rebels lead.
“We lose four players,” Lady Warriors head coach Bonnie Peters said. “Three seniors and a junior who is graduating early. I think that from the beginning of the season to now we got better. The pitching picked up, and we did better in the tournament than in the season, but we made some good progress.”

Sullivan South 13-0
Happy Valley 000 00 – 0 5 1
Sullivan South 10(12) 0x – 13 11 1
W – McConnell L – Hardin
HR – Deluna 2.