The Elizabethton softball team was unable to extend the season on Friday afternoon.
The Lady Cyclones were unable to overcome a strong start from Cocke County as they fell 9-1 in the Class 3A Substate in Newport. With the loss, Elizabethton’s season ends one game shy of the state tournament.
After neither team was able to get a run on the board in the first, Cocke County struck first with a five-run second inning, and then added a run in the third to take a 6-0 lead. Cocke County plated three runs in the fourth.
Elizabethton, however, kept battling.
Kaitlyn Gryder hit a one-out double in the sixth and then scored off a Sadie Williams single. Lacey Gobble kept the inning going with a single, but EHS was unable to plate the runs.
Williams had a hit and an RBI, while Emilee Whitson, Gryder, and Gobble had a hit.
In the pitching circle, Gobble allowed one earned run on eight hits with four strikeouts in four innings of work, while Ava Hanson allowed no runs on just one hit in two innings of work.
Chloe Niethammer was 2-for-3 with two RBI – including a home run and a double – to pace Cocke County. Ellie Profitt went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Hailee Hartsell recorded eight strikeouts in the pitching circle.