Unaka has set lofty softball goals all season and thanks to a 12-5 win over North Greene in the District 1-A tourney being played at Ronnie Hicks Field Tuesday evening, the Lady Rangers were able to scratch another line off their bucket list.

Behind a stellar pitching performance from senior Corie Scheuttler and timely hitting, Unaka left little doubt who would be one of the teams in Thursday’s battle for the district title.

“I thought it was a great team effort,” said Lady Ranger head coach Kenneth Chambers. “North Greene is a great team. We went down there a week and a half ago and they beat us 2-1 in nine innings.

“We knew we would have our hands full with them because their coaching staff does a great job with them,” Chambers added. “We thought if we would just come back and get on them that we would have a great chance to win.”

Unaka built a 5-0 lead through two innings of action before North Greene hit the board with two runs in the top of the third.

The Lady Rangers quickly recouped the runs in the bottom of the frame to go up 7-2. From there, Unaka added two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to seal the contest.

Meanwhile, Scheuttler was bringing the heat as she whiffed 12 Lady Huskies in the contest allowing only six hits and three walks to go along with her strikeout effort.

Chambers’ team was also knocking the cover off the softball as Tayla Potter was hotter than a pistol lashing out a perfect 4-for-4 plate performance and collecting four RBI’s.

A trio of Lady Rangers registered a multiple-hit game as Sydney Markland, Sarah Tipton, and Madison Pierce added two base hits each with Pierce collecting a pair of RBI’s.

Katlyn Weaver, Erica Potter, Lilly Kiser, and Taylor Shanks got in on the action by adding a solo hit each.

Unaka now awaits the winner of the North Greene and University High loser’s bracket final to see who they will be playing in the championship on Thursday for the 1-A title.

“We have the regional berth, but we still want to come in and be ready to play,” stated Chambers about the big win. “Hopefully, we will keep winning and be able to keep playing at home because it seems we play better here.”