Elizabethton keeps season alive, will face Crockett in District 1-3A title game

ELIZABETHTON — Winning two elimination games in one night is a tall task, but Elizabethton was able to execute enough in the clutch to do just that on Thursday night. The Lady Cyclones scored 10 total runs with two outs on the night, including three in the nightcap, to beat Daniel Boone 5-4 to advance to the district championship. "They're just clutch," Elizabethton head coach Kenny Hardin said. "We've worked on that the last couple of weeks on not striking out. I don't think we had but five or six strikeouts all night long. That's just big. We've got to put in play to have a chance. When we do, we've got some good hitters who can hit it hard. You put it in play, you've got a chance." The two sides went back-and-forth in the middle innings, as the Lady Cyclones (22-12) got the scoring of the late game started in the third inning. Sadie Williams hit a solo homer run to center. But Boone (17-22) answered back with three runs in the bottom of the frame. The big blow was a two-run single off the bat of Aggie Greer, giving the Lady 'Blazers their first lead of the game at 3-1. Betsy responded with two runs in the next half frame, tying the game again. Piper Kate Bennett came home on a Daniel Boone error before Katie Gryder drove in Brook Sparks on a double. Sparks gave the Lady Cyclones lead once more in the top of the fifth, launching a two-run homer to left field. It was another instance of two-out runs in what felt like a night full of them. Daniel Boone wouldn't go quietly into the night, as they rallied in the bottom of the seventh with its season on the line. After two outs in the inning, the Lady Blazers put pressure on Betsy with a double and a walk. Laney Britton cashed in the opportunity with a two-out, run-scoring single. Elizabethton then committed an error to load the bases. But, the Lady Cyclone defense redeemed itself and got the elusive 21st out to send Betsy to its first region tournament since 2022. "Just happy for this group," Hardin said. "We have two seniors and one junior on the field and the rest are underclassmen. We start three freshmen. We've fought our tails off. We've had some tough times this year, not played great…But they were resilient tonight and came out well." Sparks had a three-hit game for the Lady Cyclones, while Gobble and Piper Kate Bennett each had a pair of hits. Lilly Hilton scored twice and had two hits for the Lady 'Blazers, who say their season come to a close. Elizabethton 9, Tennessee High 1 Laci Gobble did a bit of everything for the Lady Cyclones to survive the early elimination contest. The sophomore hit a massive, two-run home run and tossed a complete game in the circle, allowing just two hits and one run. "I take a lot of pride in (performing on both sides)," Gobble said. "But most importantly, I just want to help my team." The early going saw Gobble and Lady Viking (12-18) pitcher Natalie Fields trade zeros through the first three innings of play. Then, Betsy posted a pair of runs in the fourth when Brook Sparks roped and RBI double into left before Emilee Whitson hit a sacrifice fly. In the next inning, Gobble helped her own cause with a two-run double to double the Lady Cyclone lead to 4-0. It was more than enough support for the right-hander, who retired the first 11 batters she faced. Gobble then surrendered her first base hit in the bottom of the fifth when Fields hit a leadoff single. However, Tennessee High wasn't able to cash in the opportunity, and Betsy made the visitors from Bristol pay with a five-run, two-out rally in the sixth. Adrian Heading hit a run-scoring single, Williams smoked a two-run double to right field, and Gobble homered to center, all with two outs. Addie Wilhoit got the Lady Vikings on the board with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth, but it was too-little, too-late. Heading had three hits in the opening game of the night, while Williams, Gobble, and Bennett all had multi-hit games. Up Next Elizabethton will play David Crockett for the District 1-3A Tournament championship on Friday. Both teams will advance to the Region 1-3A Tournament next week.