Lady Cyclones see season end, fall to Vikings

Published 8:28 pm Friday, May 12, 2023

By Ron Marvel

Star Correspondent

When asked earlier in the week what the mindset of his players had to be for this tournament, Coach Hardin had a simple one-word response “survive!” On the brink of a regional birth, the Lady Cyclones came up just short but they flashed the fight and character that the Lady Cyclones have come to be known for.

Fighting for its life in the District 1-3A tournament, the Lady Cyclones would trail early to the Lady Vikings as Tennessee High would plate two runs in the top of the first; but Elizabethton would answer with two runs of its own in their half of the inning as Ember Jensen and Kenidy Harris would get RBI’s in the inning plating Cheyenne Poiroux and Maely Ingram. The second inning would be scoreless but the Vikings would get two more runs in the top of the third, but back would come the Lady Cyclones. Jensen would shoot a line drive single to left and then Harris would follow up with a home run, her ninth of the season, to tie things at four. Lela Byrd would then help her team take the lead at 5-4 after she would get a double on a ball over the left fielder’s head and then scoot home off an error off the bat of Sadie Williams, making the new score 5-4.

The scoreboard wouldn’t change until the fifth inning when the Lady Vikings would tie things at five all on a force play. The Vikings would extend their lead in the top of the seventh, scoring four runs and making it 9-5. The big blow would come off the bat of Lady Viking Kaylie Hughes, who would hit a rope over the centerfield fence. The Lady Cyclones would not go quietly in the warm early May night air, Poiroux would get a base hit and the Jensen would hit a home run to left-center to make it 9-7. Harris would reach base to bring the tying run to the plate, but that is where the comeback would end as a pop-up would come down in Blue Devils second basemen Mazzy Wilson to end the game. Harris would lead the way going 3-4 in the contest while picking up 3 RBIs; Jensen and Poiroux each would have multiple hits.

After the game, Coach Hardin reflected on his season and this group of girls led by senior Kenidy Harris, Ember Jensen, Maely Ingram, Cheyenne Poiroux, Maggie Howland and Lana Ward. “What an incredible group of kids; they will be greatly missed’ they worked so hard but also had fun. They helped us come together as a team,” Hardin shared. With the loss, the Lady Cyclones finish the 2023 season with a 23-10 record.