BLUFF CITY — The North Greene Huskies lost 11-4 to the University High Buccaneers before defeating the Unaka Rangers 14-1 in the District 1-A tournament on Saturday at Sullivan East High School.
With the win over the Rangers, North Greene earned a rematch with University in the district championship on Monday at Sullivan East. The Huskies had to beat the Bucs twice to win the title. Results were not available at press time.
The Huskies have also clinched a Region 1-A tournament berth.
“I knew the (University) game was going to be a tall task,” North Greene coach Jason Lowe said. “(Pitcher) Don (Stansfield), he ain’t gonna tell you that he throws it hard. He’s just going to lob it in there and throw them off, and it did for the first few innings. We were getting popups, weak ground balls.
“They finally figured the timing out, it was only a matter of time, but the name of the game is survive and advance. And I knew Don would give us a chance. But if not, I had two arms available for the next game.”
Against University High, the Huskies jumped to a 3-0 lead after their first two at bats.
In the first inning, Colton Robbins was hit by a pitch, took second on a passed ball, stole third and scored on a groundout by Adam Weir for a 1-0 lead.
In the second, Tyler Britton lined a two-run double down the right-field line to make it 3-0.
University then scored 11 straight runs over the next three innings for an 11-3 lead.
The Huskies pushed across their final run in the top of the seventh to make it 11-4. Jake Duffy led off the frame with a double to center and later scored on a steal of home.
North Greene finished with just three hits. Britton had a hit and two RBI, and Duffy and Stansfield each had a hit.
North Greene 14 Unaka 1
North Greene had just five hits, but took advantage of 15 walks and six Unaka errors that led to eight unearned runs.
The Huskies scored seven runs in the first inning with RBI singles by Weir and Isaac Gaby highlighting the frame.
“I just told them, I looked at the seniors and said, ‘This could be your last game. You better go win it. And they responded,’” Lowe said on what prompted the seven-run start. “I knew that it was a game that if we threw strikes and made plays, then I had a good feeling about it, and we did. To see them getting some barrels, hitting it all over the field, that was good.”
North Greene led 14-1 with no outs in the bottom of the fourth when the game was called due to rain.
North Greene’s Mason Smith pitched all four innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out four. Unaka’s run was earned.
“Mason went out there and did a great job, pounded the zone and got us to the championship game,” Lowe said. “And more importantly, got us to regionals.”
Robbins went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and two RBI, Gaby was 1-for-1 with two RBI, Weir was 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Smith and Duffy each had a hit.
“We’re off to regionals, that’s what’s important,” Lowe said. “But first, we got the district championship to play. It’s a tall task to beat (University) twice but we’ll see what we can do.”
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