Elizabethton took care of business on Thursday evening to extend the season.
The Lady Cyclones defeated Tennessee High 9-1 in the first elimination game of the evening and then held off Daniel Boone 5-4 in another elimination game to secure a spot in Friday’s District 1-3A Championship game and a spot in the Region 1-3A Tournament.
Elizabethton will take on David Crockett on Friday in the championship game and will need to beat the Lady Pioneers twice to claim the title.
Against Tennessee High, neither team was able to get on the board until the top of the fourth as Brook Sparks hit a double that pushed Ava Hanson to score, and Piper Bennett scored after Emilee Whitson put the ball in play.
Elizabethton pushed the lead to 4-0 in the fifth when Lacey Gobble drove Sadie Williams and Adrian Heading across home plate with a double.
The Lady Cyclones left no doubt in the sixth as they plated five runs – including a Gobble two-run homerun – to take a 9-0 lead.
Gobble had four RBI on two hits for EHS, while Heading was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Williams had two hits and two RBI. Bennett added two hits.
Gobble allowed no earned runs on two hits in a complete game effort.
Against Daniel Boone, EHS jumped on the board first with a Williams solo home run over the center field fence. The Lady Trailblazers, however, countered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-1 lead.
In the fourth, Elizabethton evened things up as Whitson put the ball in play to score Bennett, while Kaitlyn Gryder hit a shot into centerfield that allowed Lyla Hardin to score.
The Lady Cyclones pushed the lead to 5-3 in the fifth as Sparks hit a two-run home to left field.
Daniel Boone didn’t go quietly as the Lady Trailblazers plated a run in the bottom of the seventh. Elizabethton, however, was able to strand the tying run on third and the winning run on second to take the win and extend the season.
Sparks was 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Bennett and Gobble each had two hits. Williams had a hit and an RBI.
Gobble struck out five batters and allowed just one earned run on five hits.