It was a sweet night for Unaka softball.
The Lady Rangers punched a ticket to Murfreesboro with a 9-3 victory over Tellico Plains in the TSSAA Class A Sectional on Friday night on Stoney Creek.
“I thought Sarah Hardin pitched a great game and I thought our bats came alive and we had some timely hits,” Lady Rangers Head Coach Kenneth Chambers said. “I’m proud of the whole team and they deserve it. We’re going to go down there and do the best we can do.”
It wasn’t smooth sailing at the start for Unaka.
Tellico Plains put three runs on the board in the top of the first – all three were off Unaka errors. The Lady Rangers, however, battled back in a big way. The home side of the first saw Katlyn Weaver push two runs across the plate with a single, and Hardin launched a pitch over the fence for a three-run homerun. That allowed UHS to take a 5-3 lead into the second.
After retiring the Lady Bears in order during the second, Sarah Tipton pushed Madison Pierce across home plate for a run in the bottom of the second.
Neither team got back on the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth when the Lady Rangers put three runs on the board to give them a 9-3 lead going to the top of the seventh.
Madison Ensor and Pierce went 3-for-4, while Erica Potter, Hardin and Weaver had two hits apiece.
Hardin pitched a complete game to pick up the win. Hardin allowed just six hits in the game.
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