Unaka kept the season alive with a thrilling seventh-inning comeback.
The Lady Rangers plated two runs with two outs in the top of the seventh to take a 7-6 victory over Cloudland in Wednesday’s District 1-A tournament elimination game.
Unaka advanced to Wednesday night’s District 1-A Championship game against North Greene and also secured a spot in the Region 1-A tournament. Cloudland saw its season come to a close.
Unaka opened the game as Mollie Buckles hit a single to score Katlyn Dugger and Brooklyn Campbell as UHS took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
Cloudland answered in the bottom of the second as Regan Blair hit a single that allowed Abriella Jones and Eowyn McCoury to tie the game at 2-2. In the next at-bat, Savannah McCoury hit a home run over the left field that plated Blair as well to give CHS a 4-2 lead after two complete innings.
After a quiet third inning, Cloudland added to the lead as Blair hit an inside-the-park homerun to push the CHS advantage to 5-2.
Unaka battled back in the fifth.
Ariana Collins opened the inning with a single, and Campbell and Dugger reached base to load the bases. Buckles put the ball in play to score a run before Kaci Bare hit a sac fly to bring Campbell home. Unaka tied the game at 5-5 as Devalynn Harter pushed Dugger across the plate.
The Lady ‘Landers broke the stalemate in the bottom of the sixth as S. McCoury opened the inning with a double, and then scored after Willow Bennett put the ball in play. Reagan Turbyfill hit a triple, but CHS was unable to bring the runner home as the Lady ‘Landers took a 6-5 lead into the final inning.
Campbell hit a one-out single to get the tying run on for Unaka before Dugger reached on an error. After an infield fly allowed Cloudland to record the second out, Bare drew a walk to load the bases.
The next at-bat saw Harter hit a shot that forced a CHS error and allowed Dugger and Campbell to score and give Unaka the lead. Cloudland recorded a flyout in the next at-bat.
Abriella Jones opened the bottom of the seventh with a single as CHS got the tying run on base, but the Lady ‘Landers were unable to move the runner.
Buckles finished with three RBI and was 2-for-4 batting, while Campbell was 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Bare and Harter each had a hit and a RBI.
S. McCoury went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Blair had two hits and a RBI. Jayla Harper also recorded two hits. Bennett had a hit and an RBI.