Late
rally saves Lady Rangers
By Wes Holtsclaw
STAR CORRESPONDENT
wholtsclaw@starhq.com
JELLICO -- Not playing a district tournament can
have its disadvantages -- just ask the Unaka Lady Rangers.
After a long road trip in the first round of Region
1-A softball play, the Lady Rangers met up against a Jellico
Lady Blue Devil squad which was gunning for a shot at the state
tournament.
The Lady Blue Devils took advantage of some Unaka
miscues, leading 2-0 up to the sixth inning of play. A run in
the sixth inning, pulled Unaka within one.
However, a fire lit into the Lady Rangers, and
Jellico fell apart in the seventh inning as Unaka scored six
runs to come away with a big 7-3 victory on the road.
It wasn't pretty, but Lady Ranger coach Ronnie
Hicks was glad to move forward to the region championship game
against University High, which won 13-0 over Powell Valley.
"That's what we did against University High earlier
this season, and not playing the district and being out a week
hurt," said Hicks. "With all of the mistakes we had, we came
back.
"If we don't get better than this in the outfield,
we'll be hurting. But if we can hit the ball better, like we
did in the seventh inning today, we'll be in the thick of it."
It was a step in the right direction for a Jellico
softball program that has been recently building into a successful
club. Jellico lost a meeting with the Lady Rangers earlier this
season, 10-2.
"It was a good high school softball game," said
Lady Devil coach Danny Oakes. "We are trying to improve our
program and we took another step in the right direction today.
One of these days we'll win a regional game.
"You've got to give Unaka credit. Ronnie's a crafty
coach and they are a very successful program. I'm really proud
of my team, we've improved a lot since the first time we played
them. We competed with them."
Unaka opened up the first inning, with Brandi Taylor
and Julie Roberson making their way around the bases on a passed
ball and a walk. However, the Lady Devils battled their way
out of the inning, holding the Lady Rangers scoreless.
Stacy Perkins opened up for Jellico in the first
inning with the first single of the game. She would also be
left stranded in the frame.
Neither team could get anything going offensively
until the third inning, when an infield error gave Jellico's
Amy Kellogg a base. Wendy McClanahan followed up with a double
before a sacrificed grounder from Perkins scored Kellogg, giving
the Lady Devils a 1-0 lead.
Jellico bounced back again in the fifth inning.
After three Unaka errors loaded the bases, Kristie Buckner scored
on an errored shot from McClanahan to give the Lady Devils a
2-0 edge.
Unaka was held hitless until the seventh inning,
but scored in the sixth inning after Taylor got on with a fielder's
choice, setting up an errored shot from Julie Roberson to cut
into the lead.
A solid defensive stand in the sixth inning gave
Unaka one final chance at bat. The Lady Rangers opened with
back-to-back singles from Kristi Moffitt and Medora Carrier.
Lady Ranger pitcher Dani Williams followed with
a single, scoring Moffitt to tie the game. An errored shot from
Wendy Woods brought Carrier across the plate to give Unaka the
lead.
An errored shot from Jessica Moffitt and a single
from Taylor loaded the bases for Roberson, who scored Woods
and Moffitt. Before Megan Heaton delivered a big two-run single
to take a 7-2 lead.
Emotions were running high for Jellico at that
point, and the Lady Devils opened with an errored shot from
Tamara Heatwok. She scored on a McClanahan single, but it wouldn't
be enough as Unaka held on for the victory.
"They're working hard here at Jellico to build
their program, and I thought they had us," Hicks said. "To come
back in the seventh was good, but I didn't know why we couldn't
do that in the rest of the game.
"I'm glad we won and I'm proud of the hitting late
in the game. I just wish we could keep our younger kids from
making errors."
Unaka's title game at University High begins at
4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
