Getting fired up… Lady Cyclones feed off call to rally past Lady Longhorns
Published 12:11 am Tuesday, March 23, 2021
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BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
Elizabethton head coach Kenneth Hardin is normally a gentle giant on the softball field. However, if he feels confident that his team is getting the wrong end of the stick he will be the first to make a stand to demand the right call.
A call on a play at third base on a Lady Longhorn base runner that first saw an out called by the home plate umpire, the field umpire verify the call, and then after a brief huddle between the umpires, a reversal call of safe was more than Hardin could handle.
After a brief discussion with the home plate umpire to no avail and Johnson County taking advantage as a passed ball allowed that base runner to score followed by a Johnson County two-run homer that gave the Lady Longhorns the 4-0 lead, the Lady Cyclones had their fuses lit.
The result was two runs in the bottom of the third, four in the bottom of the fourth, one in the bottom of the fifth, and five in the bottom of the sixth as Elizabethton took the 12-4 Three Rivers Conference win.
And while the bats were getting it done offensively, junior pitcher Madisun Pritchard was throwing flames past the Lady Longhorn batters as she struck out eight and walked none in the complete-game effort.
Pritchard also served as a spark plug on offense collecting three hits in three trips to the plate knocking in three RBIs to help with the Lady Cyclone rally.
But Pritchard wasn’t the only story as leadoff batter Ember Jensen was also proving to be a tough out as Jensen was 3-of-4 batting in the one hole with three RBIs and three runs scored.
Centerfielder Cheyenne Poiroux also had a standout offensive game as the speedy outfielder recorded three hits in four trips including a ball that rang the top of the right-field fence just short of being a home run to drive in two Lady Cyclone runs.
The Lady Cyclones banged out 15 hits in the game as Maddie O’Quinn and Kenidy Harris also collected two hits in the victory while Mollie Johnson and Kallista DePrimo also added one base knock each.
O’Quinn’s hits were both perfectly placed bunt singles.
The Lady Cyclones also tore up the base paths as three players stole at least two bases. Dana Holsclaw led the way with three.
Johnson County finished with eight hits and committed three errors in the field. The Lady Cyclones also had three bobbles in the field.
The Lady Cyclones (4-2) will host Sullivan South on Tuesday and then travel to Greeneville on Thursday. Both games will start at 5:30 pm.
