#12fan

I knew after the last post that someone would make an issue of the fact that it was a scrimmage. Eliz. starters were on the field for the entire time and so were Unaka's. So were the starters for Science Hill and the rest of the teams mentioned. The point of my post was that Unaka plays plenty of quality competetion and can be competitive with any teams in NE TN in A, AA, or AAA.

Unaka always plays a tough AA & AAA schedule in addition to the A teams in their conference. They lost earlier in the year to Unicoi Co. 5-3, Johnson Co. 3-1, and Sullivan South 3-2. They have also won games this year against Elizabethton, Sullivan South, & Science Hill. Unaka is a very solid Single A team that is playing very well right now. GO LADY RANGERS!

Just curious, how did the game between Eliz. & Unicoi come out tonight? It's always a fight to the death between these two.

Congratulations to the Unaka Lady Rangers on a record breaking season. The Lady Rangers completed their regular season today without allowing their conference opponents to score a single run all season. This has never been done before in Unaka's history or in the history of the Watauga Valley Conference. Good job ladies!

Unaka went 2-3 in Summerville but played much better than the record indicates. The first two games, mistakes cost the Lady Rangers dearly. They lost to Wando SC 2-1 and Irmo SC 3-1. All runs scored against the Lady Rangers in the first two games scored as a result of errors. The Lady Rangers bounced back & defeated Berea SC 10-2 and then won over Sumter SC 4-0. They then lost a heartbreaker against 4A Fort Mill SC 2-1. Unaka had allowed only one hit going into the final inning & were ahead 1-0 aginst Fort Mill but then a couple of swinging bunts & one grounder between 3rd & shortstop scored two runs. A tough loss but if the Lady Rangers continue to play like they did in Summerville, they will be tough to deal with. Good job girls!

Ryann signs with Austin Peay State University on Monday afternoon. A great big thanks to everyone who helped make this possible for Ryann. God, Jarfly Dugger (in that order but very close!) coaches, especially coach Jim Perrin, team mates and everyone else.

Hardball, I've got no dog in this fight so to speak & I know this thread is about the Eliz. vs. Unicoi game but having no other place to say this, I want to take issue with at least some of the girls from Unicoi having class. Before the Unicoi vs. Unaka game in the NFS tournament last week several people heard & saw some of the blue devils in the press box shouting out "Musick and the Rangers are over rated" and laughing about it & then making fun of some of the girls from Unaka. I won't go into the details of the game except to say that I believe that Unaka earned Unicoi's respect on the field even though we lost. These statements were coming from girls who always acted friendly toward Unaka & told us that they were our friends. I've always had nothing but respect for the Unicoi Co. softball program. Everyone in E. TN knows that Unicoi Co. has a great softball tradition & I can honestly say that is the first incident I've ever witnessed from their girls that was shameful. I would like to think that the parents & Coach Lingerfelt didn't know about this or they would have put an immediate stop to it. Please don't take this post as an attempt to pick a fight with you guys - as I said before, I have nothing but the upmost respect for your all's program, but please let these few girls on that team know that we know what they really are now. I'm just sorry we had to learn it that way.

Just curious about how all the teams did this weekend at the Unicoi Tournament. Does anyone have any scores/results?

Unaka wins 3-0.

Game 1: Unaka wins 2-1 over Crockett Game 2: Unaka wins 4-1 over Crockett

I was also impressed with a few of the teams this weekend. Johnson County's pitcher looked impressive. Does anyone know her name or anything about her?

With Unaka's victory over Elizabethton in this weekends jamboree, I believe we have to reconsider the rankings. I was also impressed with Cloudland considering they've probably had less practice time than anyone due to weather. Here's the way I see it: 1. Unaka 2. Elizabethton 3. Cloudland 4. Happy Valley 5. Hampton

According to the Va. High coach, Va. teams are only allowed to play in one preseason tournament and they are only allowed to play in a certain number of preseason scrimmage games. Since Va. High played in last weeks scrimmages in Johnson City at Winged Deer Park, if they had returned to play in Unaka's scrimmage (for more than one game) they would have been out of compliance with Va. state athletic rules and faced possible disiciplinary action. He said that he was sending another Va. team to take his team's place for the rest of the Unaka scrimmage games but I can't remember who that team was.

My opinion exactly softballover. The Cyclones and Rangers are both great teams that are very evenly matched talent wise. I hope both teams go as far as possible and represent Carter Co. very well this year.

I have no trouble with anything you've said here. Perhaps what I should have said was if you want to be the best you can be in a particular sport then there is no off season. I honestly believe that of all the girls you've named here, if some of them would have chosen to concentrate on one sport, they would have been even better in that sport. So you're right, it's their perogative. By all means, if you want to do it all - do it all.

OBPRIDE: Sorry if I made things confusing. Someone posted a question earlier in the thread about which AA & AAA teams we had played. I was just trying to name a few. I agree with you that the conference could be a little stronger from top to bottom. Hopefully, things will improve in the next few years. Jarfly Dugger and others are working with younger pitchers from all over the tri cities and interest is growing it seems. I honestly believe what we need in this area now is more coaches and parents who are dedicated strictly to softball. As anyone who plays most any sport knows, there is no off season - so when you split your time (as a coach or an athlete) among two or more sports, you're reducing your ability in either one. -Just an opinion.

I don't know enough about Univ. High's schedule to talk about it but Unaka plays more AA & AAA teams than A teams. Examples: D. Crockett, D. Boone, Va. High, Sull. East, and Unicoi Co. just to name a few. Elizabethton is on the schedule for this year in the Jamboree by the way. They also play in the Unicoi Tournament as well as the Azalea Inv. in SC and the Tiny Day Tournament in Greeneville. They played the 4A State Champions in SC last year in the Azalea Tournament. Unaka's won-lost record isn't always as good as some other teams, but come tournament time they're always tough. I believe this is because of their schedule through the year. "Playing up" always makes you better!

Brittany Taylor from Unaka definately belongs in this group. I've seen days when Unaka didn't even need a third baseman or a left fielder except to play deep. Her range, speed, and side to side quickness is better than anyone I've ever seen at the position and her arm is very solid.

Unaka has to be considered the favorite to win the conference this year with five returning seniors and two juniors. They also have two freshmen who will probably start and add power and speed to the offense. Should be a great year for the Lady Rangers if the offense steps up. University High lost their starting pitcher in McVeigh. She's on to Tusculum now but I believe they return about 5 seniors as well. Still with the pitching at Unaka, I don't see UH getting by the Rangers this year. Here's the way it stacks up. 1. Unaka 2. UH 3. Hampton 4. Cloudland 5. North Greene Good Luck to All & Let's Get It Started!

Didn't know if anyone else knew but Elizabethton lost another key player for the year in L. Blevins. (shortstop) It will be hard to replace her experience. She's played since 7th grade and when she shows up to play (like the rest of the Cyclones team) she's a solid defensive player. I've always said the difference between the Cyclones and the Blue Devils is attitude. Unicoi expects to win every time they come to the ball park. Elizabethton hopes to win. Good Luck to both!

Taylor led Unaka with a .436 batting average. She has tremendous speed (3.1 seconds from home to first base from the right handed batters box) and quickness. She can also bunt & slap hit from either side and is a very legitimate Div. I prospect. Heaton has the power at the plate and behind the plate. I don't remember the exact batting average but it was around .325 and seven or eight home runs. She guns down base runners very well also. I can only imagine what these two young ladies could do in college if given the chance. I know they both want it very badly and they're probably somewhere working on their game right now!

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I guess I'll just have to "jump on the bandwagon" so to speak. Private schools do dominate Class A softball & have for years because of one thing. MONEY! It's a common quote among Class A softball coaches at public schools that all you have to do to even get to the state tournament is "beat the best teams money can buy." Forget about winning the state tournament. The salaries that private schools can pay their coaches/teachers is one of the differences. Now lets talk about the private instruction that is paid for, the best equipment that is purchased, the great facilities, and so on. For anyone that really believes that private schools have the best programs year in & year out by coincidence, I've got some great ocean front property in Colorado I'd love to sell!!!

Brittany Taylor (number 00 for Unaka) plays shortstop, covers the left side of the infield extremely well with outstanding quickness. Hits with power from the right side, bunts and slap hits from the left side. I've not seen the player in NE TN yet that can out run her. A very legitimate Div. I player with her speed, quickness, and batting abilities.

It's scary how good Unaka could be if they had some bats. They've now lost eight one run decisions this year including one run decisions to AA and AAA powerhouses like D. Boone, Unicoi, and Cherokee. Unaka has the pitching and most of the time they have the defense to make it to Memphis. Go Rangers - hit the ball!