It was a thrilling end to an exciting tournament at Thomas Stadium on Sunday, as the Elizabethton Cyclones remained unbeaten in postseason play to defeat Unicoi County by a score of 3-1 and take home the conference championship.
After a weekend full of postseason baseball, only two teams remained in contention for the District 1-3A title on Sunday: the Blue Devils of Unicoi County and the Elizabethton Cyclones. Elizabethton had made it through the first two rounds of the tournament unscathed, while the Blue Devils bounced back from an opening round loss, clawing their way into the championship game.
The Blue Devils struck first in the opening frame, capitalizing on a bases-loaded walk to take a 1-0 lead. With only one out and the bags still full, freshman
Carter Reece kept his composure and fanned the next two Unicoi County hitters to escape the jam and limit the damage.
The Cyclone offense would knot things up at one a piece in the home half of the second as
JD Hooks stole third base and came around to score on a wild throw from the Blue Devil catcher.
The contest had become a defensive battle until the bottom of the fifth inning, when
Jack Blevins got things rolling with a single to right field. After making his way to third base, Blevins came home on a sacrifice fly into left field hit by
Marshall Holtsclaw.
But Elizabethton wasn't done yet, as
Brayden Buckles found his way aboard via a hit by pitch. He found his way to the plate by way of a
Bryson Rowland single that increased the Betsy lead to that of 3-1.
That rounded out the scoring on the day, as a mix of phenomenal pitching and timely hitting propelled the Cyclones to a championship victory.
Reece is credited with the win, throwing five hitless innings for Elizabethton before handing the mound over to
Cole Krawczyk who finished things off.
The Cyclones will host the Region 1-3A tournament at Northeast Community Credit Union Ballpark beginning on Friday, taking on the Grainger Grizzlies.
More information regarding the Region Tournament will be posted as it is made available.
