For every bump and bruise that the Elizabethton Lady Cyclones have experienced along the way in the early going of the 2019 campaign, there are valuable lessons being learned that are sure to pay dividends as the path winds to an end several games down the road.

In the meantime, the Lady Cyclones are having to endure heartbreaking losses with the latest coming at the hands of the Sullivan South Lady Rebels in a Three Rivers Conference contest that saw Elizabethton up 5-0 early in the contest only to drop the game in the latter innings, 14-12.

Elizabethton was able to protect their lead entering the top of the sixth inning leading 5-4 before the Lady Rebels responded with eight runs to grab a 12-5 advantage.

The young Lady Cyclone team kept chopping away at the dish responding with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame to make it a 12-9 game going to the seventh.

South tacked on two big runs in the top half of the seventh inning which would be huge as Elizabethton continued to charge to the front plating three runs of their own before falling just short as South managed to finally shut down any further damage to end the contest.

Swatting 19 hits on the day, the Lady Cyclones continued to flex their muscle with the bat as ‘Betsy was paced in batting by Kira Dillard, Haley Fair, and Kaylen Shell who accounted for three base hits apiece in the game.

Maddie O’Quinn, Maggie Johnson, Madisun Pritchard, and Marley Wagner each recorded two base hits each.

Hannah Edwards and Autumn Hensley got in on the hit parade with one hit apiece.

Pritchard continued to get valuable experience from the circle as the freshman worked six innings allowing six Lady Rebel runs on seven hits and striking out four South batters.

Hannah Edwards worked one inning of relief.

Tara Shirley, Lauren Day, Mary Ellis, and Mack Compton had two hits each to pace the Lady Rebels who collected 11 hits in the game.