KINGSPORT – The Elizabethton Fighting Cyclones head to their first regional appearance since 2013 after a thrilling 3-1 victory over Sullivan South on Saturday in the District 1-AA championship game played at J. Fred Johnson Stadium on the campus of Dobyns-Bennett High School.

“We have a bunch of guys that went out and focused on all the right things,” Cyclones head coach Ryan Presnell said. “As far as playing baseball, you could tell by looking at the scoreboard all week that there were a lot of good teams here.”

Senior Brodie Adams outduelled Sullivan South’s Alec Waller over seven full innings. Adams gave up just one run on five hits while striking out two and issuing a pair of walks.

“All of my stuff was working,” Adams said. “My curveball wasn’t the best but I still stuck with it. It makes you feel a lot better when you have good defense behind you. I can just throw pitches and let them make the plays.”

South (15-10-1) took a 1-0 lead in the last of the first when senior centerfielder Trey Fields turned on a fastball from Adams and deposited it over the fence in leftfield.

“I knew when he hit it that I had to settle back in and not give in to anybody,” Adams said. “Just go out and play.”

The Cyclones (17-10) got the run back in the top of the third when South made errors on consecutive plays putting Logan Estep and Jesse Carr on first and third to open the inning. Ryan Wetzel got one run across with a fielder’s choice grounder to tie the game at one to one.

In the fourth, EHS senior shortstop Michael Robinson singled and Evan Carter ripped a double to the gap in right centerfield to put two Cyclone runners in scoring position. A slow grounder to third by Adams brought home the lead run and a single up the middle by Matthew Dailey made it a 3-1 game.

“Our practice every day starts with base running,” Presnell said. “For 20 minutes, we don’t stretch, we don’t throw. We put guys at first base and start throwing situations at them. That is important to us. Base running is key for us. We don’t do it at the end of practice because then it becomes a very ho-hum kind of thing and we have speed from top to bottom and I’m going to use it. So that inning we scored two runs the base running drills really started to show for us.”

Adams made a play in the last of the second when he erased Austin Monds on a pickoff play. Monds had walked and was taking a generous lead from first base when Adams fired to EHS first baseman Dailey who applied a quick tag.

The Cyclones turned an inning-ending double play in the third frame when Lane Williams singled with one away. Williams took off on a 2-2 pitch to Marcus Williams but was doubled up when Carter made a nice running catch on a liner to rightfield.

South nearly ran themselves into another double play in the fourth after a bunt single from Fields. He also was looking to steal but ran on a pitch that was lined to Robinson at short. Fields made it safely back to second when Robinson’s throw was mishandled at first.

Fields was left stranded when Adams retired Seth Worley and Monds on a foul pop and a grounder to short respectively.

District 1AA

Baseball Tournament Championship

J. Fred Johnson Stadium

Elizabethton 3-1

Elizabethton 001 200 0 – 3 4 1

Sullivan South 100 000 0 – 1 5 2

W – Adams L – Waller

DP – EHS 1. LOB – E 6, SS 4. HR – Fields. 2B – Carter, Worley.

All Tournament Team

Sullivan East – Aaron Frye, Alex McCracken

Unicoi County – Shaddon Peavyhouse

South – Matt Montgomery, Lane Williams, Trey Fields

EHS – Michael Robinson, Ethan Eggleston, Garrick Hartley

MVP – Brody Adams