Baseball, softball teams dominating early conference slate

The Unicoi County baseball and softball teams are making rude introductions to the Three Rivers Conference. The Blue Devils softball team improved to 3-0 in its new league on Saturday when it defeated Johnson County, 11-0, in Erwin. Abby Hensley's team has outscored conference opponents, 39-0, in three games. The Unicoi County (8-3) baseball team improved to 4-0 in the Three Rivers with a home-and-home sweep – 10-0 and 4-0 – against Happy Valley last week. Isaac Harris and Kolby Jones got the wins on the mound against the Warriors. Harris pitched a five-inning no-hitter. He struck out 10 and was a walk away from a perfect game. He was also 1-for-3 with a run, an RBI and a double. "I'm super happy for him," Unicoi County coach Chad Gillis said. "He's worked. He's bought in. He plays hard." Jones struck out 12 in five innings while allowing two hits and three walks. Tucker Peterson struck out five and walked one in two innings of hitless relief. Helping provide run support in the 4-0 victory were Angel Delgado (2-for-4, RBI), Hudson Berry (2-for-3, RBI) and Broox Bennett (2-for-3, run, walk). A busy non-conference slate followed the Happy Valley sweep. The Blue Devils defeated McEwen, 10-9, on Thursday. Asher Wainwright got the victory on the mound with 3 1/3 innings relieving Tanner White. He allowed one run in 3 1/3 innings. "McEwen was good," Gillis said. "They could swing the bats. Tanner threw well, but he left it up in the zone. … "Asher was ready to go. He came in and did exactly what we needed him to do in that position to win that game. I knew he could do even with those guys hitting as well as they did. … And Tanner White made as good a two plays as I've seen him make in his two years." On Friday the Blue Devils were handily defeated (10-0) for the second time this year by Dobyns-Bennett. A frustrated Gillis opted not to burn Hudson Berry in a relief role in that one, and it paid off on Saturday. Berry pitched a three-hit shutout in a 4-0 win against Powell on Saturday. "Friday night was embarrassing," Gillis said. "We haven't shown up in either game against Dobyns-Bennett, obviously. We haven't scored a run. "I challenged Hudson. I said, 'Look, you're our reset guy. We haven't lost two games in a row all year. You need to come out tomorrow, reset this whole thing and get us back on track.' And he did, boy. I mean, I'm telling you, this kid was lights out on the mound. He did a tremendous job." Alex Laningham was 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI against Powell. Jones went 2-for-4 with three steals. There were also plenty of positives in an 11-8 loss to Sevier County on Saturday. Catcher Reid Bogart was 3-for-4 with two runs and a double. Angel Delgado drove in two runs, as did White and Dalton Hilton. Delgado also debuted in the field on Saturday, playing second base after being limited to hitting due to a sore arm since the start of the season. That allowed Gillis to move Daven Thompson to right field. "It was good to see Delgado back out there," Gillis said. "And it helps us, because Thompson's a good outfielder also. He made a couple of plays in that Sevier County game." Unicoi County will return to conference play on Monday and Tuesday against South Greene. The Blue Devils are scheduled to visit David Crockett on Thursday and host Grainger on Friday. Unicoi County's softball team (3-0, 6-1) got another dominant performance from Lela Byrd in the home win against Johnson County on Saturday. Byrd struck out 17 while pitching a six-inning no-hitter. She also homered. "We got started off slow against Johnson County," Hensley said. "Their pitcher (Ezzy Barr) threw very well. … We didn't execute to our abilities in the box swinging. "Lela threw a great game, and allowed our offense the time to get our bats going. We adjusted late in the game to pull together runs. We mentally have to know how to make those small adjustments at the plate to be able to develop hits early in the game." Emmi Linkous went 3-for-3 and Aaliyah Engle was 2-for-4 against the Longhorns. Unicoi County defeated Lee High (Va.), 9-1, on Friday. Aaliyah Engle was 3-for-3. Kyndal Engle, Linkous and Kaley Toney each were 2-for-4. Byrd was dominant on the mound, striking out 15 in seven innings. "We faced Lee High twice last season and went 1-1 with them, both games being close in score," Hensley said. "So we knew leading up to the game the competition. Lee High is a strong, solid team. The girls showed up to play mentally and physically – from hitting, fielding to pitching, the game against Lee High was our best showing. "The girls played together, were a family. I never saw them lose the fight in their eyes. That is the level of focus I expect for every game." Unicoi County will visit Lee High on Tuesday. The Blue Devils will compete in the Eastman Invitational beginning on Friday.