The Lady Cyclones left no doubt on Monday.
Elizabethton rolled to an 8-0 win over Claiborne in the Region 1-AA semifinals on Monday afternoon in Elizabethton.
With the win, the Lady Cyclones advanced to the Region 1-AA Championship game against Greeneville on Wednesday and also secured a spot in the Class AA sectional round.
After a scoreless first inning, Elizabethton struck first in the bottom of the second.
EHS loaded the bases with no outs, and Dana Holsclaw – who was pinch-running for Madisun Pritchard – scored off a Claiborne error.
Cheyenne Poiroux put the ball in play in the next at-bat, and reached base on a Claiborne error that also scored Kallista Deprimo. Maely Ingram plated Kenidy Harris to give Elizabethton a 3-0 lead.
Maddie O’Quinn scored the lone run of the third inning after she reached on an error and then scored after Pritchard put the ball in play.
That allowed Elizabethton to take a 4-0 lead after three innings of play.
The Lady Cyclone offense stayed on a roll in the fourth inning as Mollie Johnson reached base to open the inning.
With two outs, Ingram put runners on the corner with a single, and M. O’Quinn hit a single to short that allowed Johnson to score.
Ingram touched home plate to push the lead to 6-0 after Ember Jensen hit a hard shot to center field for a single.
The Lady Bulldogs were able to get runners on first and second in the fifth, but the EHS defense held strong to keep Claiborne off the scoreboard.
Poiroux and Johnson scored for Elizabethton off of an E. Quinn single and an Ingram double, respectively, in the home side of the fifth to account for the final scoring.
From there, the Lady Cyclones cruised to the win.
Ingram was 3-for-4 with two RBI to pace the EHS offensive attack.
Jensen added two hits and an RBI, while M. O’Quinn and E. O’Quinn each had a hit and an RBI.
Pritchard, Harris, and Johnson each added a hit.
The Lady Bulldogs were charged with nine errors in the game.
Pritchard pitched a gem in the pitching circle as she struck out 12 Claiborne batters. She recorded the shutout while allowing just two hits.
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