Stars of the Diamond: Elizabethton’s Shoun pitches his way to MVP

Published 7:01 pm Thursday, May 31, 2018

The Elizabethton Cyclones took ‘Betsy fans on a wild ride in 2018. The Cyclones would drive deep into the postseason as Elizabethton finished in the final four of the state in Class AA while rolling to district and region titles. The 2018 Cyclones recorded the school’s best season since the 1958 EHS squad that finished runner-up at the state tournament.

Happy Valley, Unaka, Hampton, and Cloudland would all see big moments in 2018 but would ultimately not make it further than the district tournaments.

The follow postseason awards were selected after consideration of season stats, input from coaches and sportswriters, and a player’s overall contributions to a team.

Throughout the 2018 season, the Elizabethton Cyclones could count on senior Tre Shoun to keep hitters off balance. The ‘Betsy slinger threw his way to a 10-2 record as the Cyclones made a deep run into the state tournament. Shoun’s final win of the season and his high school career came during the Cyclones’ 12-0 victory over Grundy during the state tournament. During that game, the TSSAA officially scored the contest as a combined no-hitter for pitchers Shoun, Karson Dillard, and Colton Miller.  Over 67 innings and 15 starts, Shoun maintained a 1.351 ERA while striking out 46 batters. Shoun saw five starts in the postseason as he held a 1.105 ERA over those five contests.

Tossing a record-tying three no-hitters this season, Unaka’s John Ramsey sent many batters back to the dugout in 2018. Recording a 9-3 record, Ramsey threw for 62 2/3 innings while maintaining a 1.005 ERA. Ramsey recorded 115 strikeouts.

Every time Elizabethton’s Corey Russell stepped up to the plate in 2018 other teams took notice. Russell hit his way to a .389 average while collecting 50 RBIs, with 11 of those coming during the Cyclones’ 10-game postseason. Russell also finished the season with 43 runs and a .494 on-base percentage.

Reporting as the second baseman for the Cyclones, senior Ethan Eggleston made it hard for opposing teams to collect hits. Eggleston finished 2018 with a .922 fielding percentage while recording 83 putouts and being apart of five double plays. During the Cyclones 10-game postseason, Eggleston would only have three errors while helping turn four double plays with 28 putouts.