Lady Vikings Gain Regional Berth; 'Betsy, Crockett to Meet in Elimination; Unicoi, East Ousted in District 1-AAA Softball
BRISTOL – Tennessee High pitcher Carly Compton said she wasn’t up to par on Tuesday. Everyone should be lucky enough to have such a lofty substandard.
Compton pitched a four-hitter, hit a home run and singled as the Vikings defeated David Crockett, 5-1, in the winners’ bracket final of the District 1-AAA softball tournament at Rotary Park.
Tennessee High (21-4) clinched a region berth and will play tomorrow’s David Crockett-Elizabethton winner on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the championship.
Elizabethton eliminated Unicoi County with a 12-4 victory.
Compton (18-1) transferred to Tennessee High from Tazewell prior to the season. Her father Jack played baseball with major leaguer Billy Wagner at Tazewell.
A junior committed to North Carolina, Compton (18-1) took the Upper Lakes Conference by storm. The Vikings outscored opponents 56-1 while running the table during the eight-game league slate.
Compton pitched every inning of the dominance. In fact, the run she allowed to Crockett (20-13) during the regular season was unearned. She allowed her first earned run to a conference foe on Tuesday.
“It wasn’t my A-game today,” Compton said. “It was one of those nights where I had to figure out a way to win. I’m coming off being sick for a week and other stuff, but I knew coming in that I had to do my job and the defense really played well for me.”
Compton – oh, by the way – struck out nine.
“Honestly, for us to be able to keep Compton to single-digit strikeouts was good,” Crockett coach Alex Dulaney said. “Not a lot of teams have been able to do that.”
Compton entered with 0.22 ERA.
“She’s dependable, works hard,” Tennessee High coach David Boggs said. “She’s very humble. A lot of times she’ll take credit for my mistakes.
“She’s just a heck of a ballplayer. She has a lot of fire and she keeps everybody fired up. It’s just a real blessing to have her on the team.”
Compton aided her outing by going 2-for-2 with the home run, and she was hit by a pitch. She spoiled a good pitch by fisting a single to left field to lead off the bottom of the second and scored on Lily Ware’s two-out single to center field.
Kaylie Hughes hit a solo home run with two out in the third to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead, and Compton expanded the lead to three when she led off the bottom of the fourth with the home run against talented Crockett freshman left-hander Madelyn Dulaney.
“She tried to throw me a screwball and that’s my pitch,” Compton said. “So I just turned on it.”
Compton was nonetheless impressed with Dulaney, who gave up six hits, three earned runs and a walk while striking out eight in five innings.
“She does her job and she’s even a tough batter to pitch to, too,” Compton said. “And for her to be a freshman – she moves the ball and she hits her spots. I mean, she’s really outstanding. She earned my respect from Day One.”
Dulaney, a left-hander with exceptional movement, struck out eight in five innings. She allowed six hits, a walk and three earned runs.
“She does well,” Boggs said. “She’s gonna make a lot of noise down the road. I think Carly’s No. 1 and she’s No. 2 in strikeouts in Northeast Tennessee. It’s a battle of two good pitchers.”
In the top of the fifth, the Pioneers cut Tennessee High’s lead to 3-1. Eva Marler lined a one-out double to left-center field to score Molly Davis, who was running for Chelsea Williams.
Tennessee High ended any suspense with two runs in the fifth. Hughes doubled with one out, Addie Wilhoit followed with a walk and Compton was hit by a pitch with two out to load the bases.
Enter Maddi Hall, who delivered a two-run single to center.
Hughes finished 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and an RBI.
“Kaylie struggled for just a little while at the plate, but being the trooper she is, she worked hard and battled through it,” Boggs said. “It started coming back about a week and a half ago, and she’s back on fire now. And when she’s right, she’s tough to handle. She’s a heck of a defensive player as well.”
The Pioneers’ Autumn Wynn went 2-for-3.
“Autumn had half our hits tonight,” Alex Dulaney said. “She did not have a good first at-bat. I was really proud of her resolve after that. She went up there with a better mindset and got a couple of hits.”
Wynn lined a single to left field to lead off the fifth and Williams followed with a walk. A passed ball put runners at first and third, and Crockett was threatening to make a game of it when a double steal went awry.
The Vikings got a strikeout/throw-‘em-out double play to stunt the rally on the attempted double steal. Alex Dulaney appeared to argue for obstruction on the caught stealing at home plate after the return throw from the middle infielder to the catcher.
“We made an aggressive play and that call did not go our way,” Dulaney said. “That’s about all I can say about that.”
Ware went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a double. Wilhoit walked twice and scored a run.
Dulaney was 1-for-3 with a line-out for Crockett, which defeated Elizabethton, 5-2, on Monday. The Pioneers will have to best the Cyclones again to extend the season.
“We had a good tight one with them Monday,” Alex Dulaney said. “(Lela) Byrd threw really well. We’ve been able to beat her a couple of times. But honestly, we thought her velocity would help us get ready for Carly a little better.
“The thing about Tennessee High is we’ve played better each time that we’ve played ‘em. … Honestly, for us to be able to keep Compton to single-digit strikeouts was good. Not a lot of teams have been able to do that. Hopefully we’ll do well tomorrow and see ‘em again.”
Unicoi County eliminated Sullivan East with an 18-0 victory before having its season end against Elizabethton. The Blue Devils answered the Cyclones’ four-run first with a four-run first of their own. But the hits kept coming for Elizabethton.
“We came out swinging the bats against East,” Unicoi County coach Abby Hensley said. “We came out ready to play. We came back with four runs against Elizabethton (in the first). That gave us the momentum. But Elizabethton’s a great hitting team.”
Unicoi County had five seniors: Kynzie Jones, Emma Jones, Faith Bennett, Kylee Hensley, Katlyn Nelson.
Sullivan East will graduate seven seniors: Olivia Ashbrook, Carly Bradford, Madyson Doss, Berkley Helbert, Shelbie Leffew, Brooklyne Loudy and Jade Sanders.
“Softball is such a grueling season,” East coach Michael Forrester said. “It takes true dedication to stick with it for four years. Our seven seniors have been wonderful representatives of our school on the field, in the classroom and in the community. I’m proud of who they are and I’m forever grateful to have been their coach.”
Tennessee High 5, David Crockett 1
David Crockett – Madelyn Dulaney, Cara Wilson (6) and Bailey Dugger; Tennessee High – Carly Compton and Abby Haga. W – Carly Compton, L – Madelyn Dulaney. 2B – Eva Marler, David Crockett; Lily Ware, Tennessee High; Kaylie Hughes, Tennessee High. HR – Kaylie Hughes, Tennessee High (solo in 3rd); Carly Compton, Tennessee High (solo in 4th). RBI – Eva Marler, David Crockett; Maddisyn Hall, Tennessee High 2; Kaylie Hughes, Tennessee High; Carly Compton, Tennessee High; Lily Ware, Tennessee High. SB – M Davis, David Crockett 2; Madelyn Dulaney, David Crockett.
Elizabethton 12, Unicoi County 4
Elizabethton – Lela Byrd, Lilly McDuffie (7) and Jozey Reece, Lela Byrd (7); Unicoi County – Kyndal Engle, Kaley Toney (4) and Aaliyah Engle. W – Lela Byrd, L - K Engle. 2B – Sadie Williams, Elizabethton; Lela Byrd, Elizabethton. HR – Lela Byrd, Elizabethton 2 (solo in 2nd, solo in 6th); Mikinna Blackwell, Elizabethton (one on in 4th). RBI – Elizabethton 11 (Mikinna Blackwell 4, Lela Byd 3, Adrian Heading 2, Lilly McDuffie, Emma O’Quinn) Unicoi County 2 (Kylee Hensley, Kaley Toney). SB – Aaliyah Engle, Unicoi County; Miley Woodward, Unicoi County.
Unicoi County 18, Sullivan East 0
Sullivan East – Raquel Del Prete, Breanna Rutledge (2), Raquel Del Prete (4), Breanna Rutledge (4) and Breanna Rutledge, Addison Holly (1). Unicoi County -- Kaley Toney and Aaliyah Engle. W – Kaley Toney, L – Raquel Del Prete. 2B – Unicoi County 5 (Aaliyah Engles, Faith Bennett, Kyndal Engle, Kianna Woodwad, Kylee Hensley). HR – Aaliyah Engle, Unicoi County (solo in 1st); Kaley Toney, Unicoi County (one on in 3rd); Kianna Woodward, Unicoi County (two on in 4th). RBI – Unicoi County 15 (Kaley Toney 3, Kylee Hensley 3, Kianna Woodward 3, Miley Woodward 2, Aaliyah Engle 2, Kyndal Engle 2.
Compton pitched a four-hitter, hit a home run and singled as the Vikings defeated David Crockett, 5-1, in the winners’ bracket final of the District 1-AAA softball tournament at Rotary Park.
Tennessee High (21-4) clinched a region berth and will play tomorrow’s David Crockett-Elizabethton winner on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the championship.
Elizabethton eliminated Unicoi County with a 12-4 victory.
Compton (18-1) transferred to Tennessee High from Tazewell prior to the season. Her father Jack played baseball with major leaguer Billy Wagner at Tazewell.
A junior committed to North Carolina, Compton (18-1) took the Upper Lakes Conference by storm. The Vikings outscored opponents 56-1 while running the table during the eight-game league slate.
Compton pitched every inning of the dominance. In fact, the run she allowed to Crockett (20-13) during the regular season was unearned. She allowed her first earned run to a conference foe on Tuesday.
“It wasn’t my A-game today,” Compton said. “It was one of those nights where I had to figure out a way to win. I’m coming off being sick for a week and other stuff, but I knew coming in that I had to do my job and the defense really played well for me.”
Compton – oh, by the way – struck out nine.
“Honestly, for us to be able to keep Compton to single-digit strikeouts was good,” Crockett coach Alex Dulaney said. “Not a lot of teams have been able to do that.”
Compton entered with 0.22 ERA.
“She’s dependable, works hard,” Tennessee High coach David Boggs said. “She’s very humble. A lot of times she’ll take credit for my mistakes.
“She’s just a heck of a ballplayer. She has a lot of fire and she keeps everybody fired up. It’s just a real blessing to have her on the team.”
Compton aided her outing by going 2-for-2 with the home run, and she was hit by a pitch. She spoiled a good pitch by fisting a single to left field to lead off the bottom of the second and scored on Lily Ware’s two-out single to center field.
Kaylie Hughes hit a solo home run with two out in the third to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead, and Compton expanded the lead to three when she led off the bottom of the fourth with the home run against talented Crockett freshman left-hander Madelyn Dulaney.
“She tried to throw me a screwball and that’s my pitch,” Compton said. “So I just turned on it.”
Compton was nonetheless impressed with Dulaney, who gave up six hits, three earned runs and a walk while striking out eight in five innings.
“She does her job and she’s even a tough batter to pitch to, too,” Compton said. “And for her to be a freshman – she moves the ball and she hits her spots. I mean, she’s really outstanding. She earned my respect from Day One.”
Dulaney, a left-hander with exceptional movement, struck out eight in five innings. She allowed six hits, a walk and three earned runs.
“She does well,” Boggs said. “She’s gonna make a lot of noise down the road. I think Carly’s No. 1 and she’s No. 2 in strikeouts in Northeast Tennessee. It’s a battle of two good pitchers.”
In the top of the fifth, the Pioneers cut Tennessee High’s lead to 3-1. Eva Marler lined a one-out double to left-center field to score Molly Davis, who was running for Chelsea Williams.
Tennessee High ended any suspense with two runs in the fifth. Hughes doubled with one out, Addie Wilhoit followed with a walk and Compton was hit by a pitch with two out to load the bases.
Enter Maddi Hall, who delivered a two-run single to center.
Hughes finished 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and an RBI.
“Kaylie struggled for just a little while at the plate, but being the trooper she is, she worked hard and battled through it,” Boggs said. “It started coming back about a week and a half ago, and she’s back on fire now. And when she’s right, she’s tough to handle. She’s a heck of a defensive player as well.”
The Pioneers’ Autumn Wynn went 2-for-3.
“Autumn had half our hits tonight,” Alex Dulaney said. “She did not have a good first at-bat. I was really proud of her resolve after that. She went up there with a better mindset and got a couple of hits.”
Wynn lined a single to left field to lead off the fifth and Williams followed with a walk. A passed ball put runners at first and third, and Crockett was threatening to make a game of it when a double steal went awry.
The Vikings got a strikeout/throw-‘em-out double play to stunt the rally on the attempted double steal. Alex Dulaney appeared to argue for obstruction on the caught stealing at home plate after the return throw from the middle infielder to the catcher.
“We made an aggressive play and that call did not go our way,” Dulaney said. “That’s about all I can say about that.”
Ware went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a double. Wilhoit walked twice and scored a run.
Dulaney was 1-for-3 with a line-out for Crockett, which defeated Elizabethton, 5-2, on Monday. The Pioneers will have to best the Cyclones again to extend the season.
“We had a good tight one with them Monday,” Alex Dulaney said. “(Lela) Byrd threw really well. We’ve been able to beat her a couple of times. But honestly, we thought her velocity would help us get ready for Carly a little better.
“The thing about Tennessee High is we’ve played better each time that we’ve played ‘em. … Honestly, for us to be able to keep Compton to single-digit strikeouts was good. Not a lot of teams have been able to do that. Hopefully we’ll do well tomorrow and see ‘em again.”
Unicoi County eliminated Sullivan East with an 18-0 victory before having its season end against Elizabethton. The Blue Devils answered the Cyclones’ four-run first with a four-run first of their own. But the hits kept coming for Elizabethton.
“We came out swinging the bats against East,” Unicoi County coach Abby Hensley said. “We came out ready to play. We came back with four runs against Elizabethton (in the first). That gave us the momentum. But Elizabethton’s a great hitting team.”
Unicoi County had five seniors: Kynzie Jones, Emma Jones, Faith Bennett, Kylee Hensley, Katlyn Nelson.
Sullivan East will graduate seven seniors: Olivia Ashbrook, Carly Bradford, Madyson Doss, Berkley Helbert, Shelbie Leffew, Brooklyne Loudy and Jade Sanders.
“Softball is such a grueling season,” East coach Michael Forrester said. “It takes true dedication to stick with it for four years. Our seven seniors have been wonderful representatives of our school on the field, in the classroom and in the community. I’m proud of who they are and I’m forever grateful to have been their coach.”
Tennessee High 5, David Crockett 1
David Crockett | 000 | 010 | 0 | -- | 1 | 4 | 00 |
Tennessee High | 011 | 120 | x | -- | 5 | 7 | 0 |
David Crockett – Madelyn Dulaney, Cara Wilson (6) and Bailey Dugger; Tennessee High – Carly Compton and Abby Haga. W – Carly Compton, L – Madelyn Dulaney. 2B – Eva Marler, David Crockett; Lily Ware, Tennessee High; Kaylie Hughes, Tennessee High. HR – Kaylie Hughes, Tennessee High (solo in 3rd); Carly Compton, Tennessee High (solo in 4th). RBI – Eva Marler, David Crockett; Maddisyn Hall, Tennessee High 2; Kaylie Hughes, Tennessee High; Carly Compton, Tennessee High; Lily Ware, Tennessee High. SB – M Davis, David Crockett 2; Madelyn Dulaney, David Crockett.
Elizabethton 12, Unicoi County 4
Elizabethton | 420 | 401 | 1 | -- | 12 | 16 | 2 |
Unicoi County | 400 | 000 | 0 | -- | 4 | 7 | 1 |
Elizabethton – Lela Byrd, Lilly McDuffie (7) and Jozey Reece, Lela Byrd (7); Unicoi County – Kyndal Engle, Kaley Toney (4) and Aaliyah Engle. W – Lela Byrd, L - K Engle. 2B – Sadie Williams, Elizabethton; Lela Byrd, Elizabethton. HR – Lela Byrd, Elizabethton 2 (solo in 2nd, solo in 6th); Mikinna Blackwell, Elizabethton (one on in 4th). RBI – Elizabethton 11 (Mikinna Blackwell 4, Lela Byd 3, Adrian Heading 2, Lilly McDuffie, Emma O’Quinn) Unicoi County 2 (Kylee Hensley, Kaley Toney). SB – Aaliyah Engle, Unicoi County; Miley Woodward, Unicoi County.
Unicoi County 18, Sullivan East 0
Sullivan East | 000 | 00 | -- | 0 | 2 | 5 |
Unicoi County | 534 | 6x | -- | 18 | 16 | 0 |
Sullivan East – Raquel Del Prete, Breanna Rutledge (2), Raquel Del Prete (4), Breanna Rutledge (4) and Breanna Rutledge, Addison Holly (1). Unicoi County -- Kaley Toney and Aaliyah Engle. W – Kaley Toney, L – Raquel Del Prete. 2B – Unicoi County 5 (Aaliyah Engles, Faith Bennett, Kyndal Engle, Kianna Woodwad, Kylee Hensley). HR – Aaliyah Engle, Unicoi County (solo in 1st); Kaley Toney, Unicoi County (one on in 3rd); Kianna Woodward, Unicoi County (two on in 4th). RBI – Unicoi County 15 (Kaley Toney 3, Kylee Hensley 3, Kianna Woodward 3, Miley Woodward 2, Aaliyah Engle 2, Kyndal Engle 2.
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