Lady Cyclones rally to take down Greene Devils
Published 5:03 pm Tuesday, March 21, 2023
1 of 5
Star Photo/Ron Marvel Senior Kenidy Harris is greeted by her teammates after a two-run homer against the Greene Devils, making the score 4-3.
Star Photo/Ron Marvel Lady Cyclones Head Coach Kenny Hardin makes a pitching change and talks defense with his squad.
Star Photo/Ron Marvel Lady Cyclone Lela Byrd fires home the pitch in fifth-inning action against Greeneville.
Star Photo/Ron Marvel Shortstop Ember Jensen lays out for a blooper as she fades into left field.
Star Photo/Ron Marvel Maley Ingram explodes out of the box as she slaps the ball toward third base.
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By Ron Marvel
Star Correspondent
The Lady Cyclones bats came alive Monday night and all it took was a grand slam off the bat of Lady Greene Devil Kyla Jobe to get them going. Down 4-0 in the bottom of the third, Molly Johnson got the rally going by skipping a hard ground ball into centerfield that scored Maley Ingram, which was followed by a Kenidy Harris two-run homerun that well cleared the centerfield wall, by the end of the inning the Lady Cyclones were down 4-3 but had regained momentum. The Lady Greene Devils tried to reinsert themselves in the top of the fourth but Lela Byrd came on in relief and was able to get a strikeout and a ground ball to strand the Greene Devils at second and third. Senior Kenidy Harris talked about her at-bat after the game, “my first at-bat I missed one that was over the plate and I knew I had to be more aggressive and not let another go by; I saw that same pitch on my second at-bat and just swung away.”
In the bottom of the fourth, Ingram picked up an RBI when she hit a single to the opposite field plating Hannah Morgan and tying the game at 4-4. The Lady Cyclones would then break the tie when Emma O’Quinn would hit a single and Ingram would scoot home on a Greenville throwing error. Molly Johnson would reach safely on another Greeneville error and then shortstop Ember Jensen would pick up two of her four RBIs on the night off a line drive shot to the left-center gap, making the new score 7-4 Cyclone Advantage. Lela Byrd would then hit a double of her own, plating Jensen before the end of the inning.
The Lady Cyclones would add four insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth courtesy of a Jensen two-run shot and a couple of hits by Hannah Morgan and Sadie Williams. Altogether, on the night, the Lady Cyclones would collect 16 hits. Mollie Johnson would start the night on the mound, giving up three earned runs in 3.1 innings. Lela Byrd would pitch well in relief, giving up just one run in 3.2 innings. Senior first baseman Harris knows her team is still learning to work together, “I think we were having the tendency to get down a little when things weren’t going our way. Tonight was different; we got down and we just got louder; we all continued to cheer each other, and it just makes a difference.” Coach Kenny Hardin echoed his first baseman’s thoughts, “we showed character tonight, great comeback, we never gave up they are just a great group of kids.”
JV Elizabethton 13 Greeneville 1
Sadie Williams drove in four runs off three base hits as the Lady Cyclones Junior Varsity scored ten runs in the third to distance themselves in the late-night contest. Ava Kellerman, Gracie Estep, Grace Whaley and Jozee Reece all had base hits and RBIs in the contest. Lilly McDuffie was strong off the mound, only allowing four hits and one run while striking out six.
