Softball
Coach: Mr. Keith Jeffers
Assistants: Mr. Joe Degroat, Ms. Sharon Cradic
Tiny Day tournament - the girls are wearing their championship t-shirts!
Senior Night 2012-2013 (see gallery below!)
Let's hear it for the Lady Bucs Softball team who won 11-5 on Wednesday, with a Grand Slam and home run by Junior, Barrett Wherry! This is the 1st state win in 4 years! Our Bucs will play on Thursday, May 23rd, at 12:00. Go, Bucs, Go! We are cheering for you!!!
Wherry
powers Lady Bucs’ win
By JEFF BIRCHFIELD
Press Sports Writer
jbirchfield@johnsoncitypress.com
MURFREESBORO — Barrett Wherry couldn’t have picked a better time for a breakout performance.
Not known for her power, Wherry hit a grand slam in the fifth inning and added a two-run home run in the seventh to lift University High to an 11-5 victory over South Fulton on Wednesday at the TSSAA Class A state softball championships. In both cases, the center fielder sent the ball flying well beyond the fence at the Murfreesboro Starplex Field.
Wherry, who hadn’t hit a home run prior to Wednesday, ended with gaudy numbers, 2-for-4 with six RBIs and three runs scored.
“When that first one went out, I didn’t actually believe it,” Wherry said. “It had never happened in my life. The next time up, she threw me the same pitch, so I was like, ‘Guess I will hit that again.’ ”
Wherry’s breakout day symbolized
a breakthrough for the entire University High program. Winless in seven previous games at the state tournament, including a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Oliver Springs on Tuesday, the Lady Bucs (28-14) battled from a 4-2 deficit to score seven runs in a decisive fifth inning.
“This was the same dugout, the same field where we got knocked out last year,” UH head coach Keith Jeffers said. “You always remember those losses because they sit with you. We came out, had a bad inning and we weren’t playing that well. They got up 4-2, but after that, we just started hitting the ball.”
Belle Bright and Mollee Cohee had RBIs to push University High to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
However, South Fulton answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Although the Lady Red Devils (24-15) added another run in the third, they couldn’t hold off the University High onslaught.
The Lady Bucs had already pulled ahead 5-4 in the fifth with a RBI single by Taylor Treadway and a two-run double by Haley Faulkner before Wherry’s grand slam.
Tanner Horton picked up the win, giving up five runs and 11 hits over seven innings. She was among several UH stars at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Faulkner was also 2-for-4
as eight of the nine in the Lady Bucs’ starting lineup reached base at some point.
There were also enough big plays on the defensive end to keep the game in hand, and to give UH its first ever state-tournament win.
“It’s amazing to win this game,” Bright said. “We’ve been down here three of the past four years and we hadn’t won a game. But, we’re confident this year and feel we have a shot against anyone.”
It was a sentiment shared by her head coach.
With good hitting up and down the lineup, Jeffers felt confident about UH’s chances at the state tournament. His players certainly didn’t disappoint him on Wednesday.
“It’s getting to the point where I feel comfortable with everybody in the lineup hitting,” Jeffers said. “Everybody is contributing and everybody is hitting the ball hard. Tanner pitched an awesome game. Even though her speed was off a little today, her location was good. We gave up those runs, but for the most part, we kept them in check.”
University High will play Whitwell in a losers’ bracket quarterfinal today at 1 p.m.
Good luck to our Lady Bucs Softball team, who fell short on Tuesday in the 1st game of the State Tournament. Our Bucs will be playing on Wednesday, May 22nd, at 12:30 in Murfreesboro, facing South Fulton. Go, Bucs, Go! We are cheering for you!!!
U-High rallies, falls 4-3
By JEFF BIRCHFIELD
Press Sports Writer
jbirchfield@johnsoncitypress.com
MURFREESBORO — University High rallied from four runs down for a chance in its final at-bat, but came up just short in the opening round of the TSSAA Class A softball championships Tuesday night.
The Lady Bucs dropped a 4-3 decision Oliver Springs at McKnight Fields after falling behind by four runs and not having a single hit against Lady Bobcats pitcher Courtney Jones through five innings.
UH (27-14) scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth and loaded the bases in the seventh, only to see Oliver Springs end the game with a fielder’s choice.
“I will be honest; this is pretty disappointing,” University High head coach Keith Jeffers said. “We had that (third) inning when they scored three runs and we had a couple of errors. We blew it on that inning. We play a solid seven-inning game and we win this game.”
After Jones was untouchable for the first five innings, the Lady
Bucs tagged her for five hits and three runs over the last two innings. Taylor Treadway had a hard-hit ball to center field to score UH’s first two runs, and Mollee Cohee followed with a RBI double.
In the final inning, UH loaded the bases, with Sarah Higginbottom and Tanner Horton each providing singles. Treadway hit a ball up the middle on the final at-bat, but Oliver Springs shortstop Emily Griffith made the play in the field to end the game.
“We came back and never gave up,” Jeffers said. “We just didn’t hit it until too late. Basically, we needed to put together few more hits earlier in the game. We had bases loaded. It just didn’t work out this time.”
Jones recorded 13 strikeouts for the game, but impressed her Oliver Springs coach Matt Headden the most with the poise she showed in holding on for the
victory.
“Courtney has been our only pitcher this year, but she’s stepped up many, many times,” Headden said. “She’s so calm, cool and collected in that circle. I’ve never seen her get rattled.”
University High was living dangerously with Oliver Springs batters on base in the top of the second and bases loaded with no outs in the top of the third.
The Lady Bucs’ defense stepped up to shut down the Lady Bobcats in the second. They got two outs in the third before Rachel Griffith ripped a bases-loaded double for a 3-0 Oliver Springs lead.
It remained that way until Macy Martin crushed a home run over left field in the sixth inning for a 4-0 Bobcats lead.
Haley Faulkner suffered the loss, giving up three runs and
seven hits in four innings. Tanner Horton came in to pitch the final three innings.
The Lady Bucs will face South Fulton, a 5-1 loser against Richland, in an elimination game today at 12:30 p.m
Congratulations to our Lady Bucs Softball team, who defeated Coalfield in the softball sectional game by a score of 5 to 4 on Friday evening. The Lady Bucs will be traveling to Murfreesboro on Tuesday!!
UH headed back to state softball tournament
Published May 17, 2013 By
Jeff Birchfield
-
Press Sports Writer
Neither rain, nor lightning, nor one inning of shaky defense could keep University High from delievering the goods against Coalfield in Friday’s Class A softball sectional at Betty Basler Field.
Behind an 11-strikeout performance by Tanner Horton and a game-winning double by Mollee Cohee, the Lady Bucs outlasted a lengthy weather delay and overcame the Yellow Jackets rallying from four runs down to take a 5-4 victory.
“That rain delay, that’s hard,” University High head coach Keith Jeffers said. “It was like starting over, even though we were up. I give Coalfield credit with the way they stormed back.”
University High held a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when the game was stopped, first for lightning and then for heavy rain.
Near three hours later, play resumed and the Lady Bucs (27-13) clinched their third state tournament appearance in four years and their fifth in the last nine years.
The weather wasn’t the only twist.
Jeffers opted to use Horton as starting pitcher instead of senior ace Haley Faulkner. The strategy worked with the sophomore striking out six and giving up just one hit through three innings before the delay.
She lost a 4-0 lead in a fifth-inning when the Junior Bucs committed three errors, but she stayed in the game, giving up four hits and four walks overall.
She finished the seventh inning by striking out two of the three batters she faced.
“I had a little bit of an adrenaline rush going on and stayed pumped up,” Horton said. “I never got too worried when they came back because I have faith in my team. My pitching coach tells me to never give up, not matter what the circumstances. I try to follow by that and not lose any hope.”
With the game tied, Taylor Treadway doubled in the bottom of the fifth and Cohee followed with her own RBI double, which proved to be the game-winner.
“That pitch was right down the middle and I was thinking we needed a good hit to at least get her to third,” said Cohee, who ended 2-for-3 with two RBIs. “The plan was just to put it in play and hope that something good happens. It was really important for us to come back out and be strong.”
In the first couple of innings, it looked like UH was going to run away.
Lead-off batter Barrett Wherry was 2-for-2 in the early going, which included a RBI double and two runs scored.
Wherry singled and later scored off a fielding error for the first run. Cohee added a RBI single to score Belle Bright for a 2-0 lead at the end of one.
Madi Freeman got on base with an error in the second inning, and Wherry plated her with a RBI double. Horton followed with another RBI double for a 4-0 advantage.
Once back in action, Coalfield’s Megan Meredith led off the fifth with a single and the Yellow Jackets and also had an RBI triple from Kera Keathley to rally from four down.
Despite that and pitcher Hannah Melhorn scattering seven hits, they weren’t able to hold off the Lady Bucs, who beat them in a sectional game for the second time in four years.
It was, however, an example of the never-give-up attitude displayed by Coalfield throughout the year. The Jackets rallied from a 6-0 deficit to beat Grace Christian in the regional semifinals.
“We have a special group of kids,” Coalfield coach Jennifer Laurendine said. “When their backs are against the wall, they always come out person-by-person and come back. We came back that way against Grace Christian and we’ve battled that way all season. Tonight, we just fell one short.”
As for University High, Jeffers said there is business to attend to next week at the state tournament in Murfreesboro.
“We’re going to do something this year that UH hasn’t done,” Jeffers said. “We’re going to go down there and win some ball games if it’s at all possible. I know it’s going to be tough competition, but the way we’re hitting the ball, we have a shot to make some noise down there.”
Region Champs!!!! Congratulations to our Lady Bucs Softball team, Region 1-A Champions! The team defeated Cosby 17 to 2. The Lady Bucs play Coalfield on Friday, May 17th, at ETSU's Betty Basler Field in a Sectional game. The winner advances to the State Tournament in Murfreesboro.
UH captures Region 1-A softball title
FROM STAFF REPORTS
University High scored early and often to easily defeat Cosby in Wednesday’s Region 1-A softball championship.
The Lady Bucs scored nine runs over the first three innings and tacked on six more runs in the fourth on their way to a 17-2 mercy-rule victory.
“We told them before the game started we needed to score several runs in the first inning,” University High head coach Keith Jeffers said. “They came out swinging and scored those five runs.”
Barrett Wherry led the UH offense, going 2-for-4 with five RBIs.
There was plenty of pop in the lineup with 16 hits overall.
Taylor Treadway was 4-for-4 with a double and a triple and two RBIs, while Mollee Cohee was 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs. In addition, Tanner Horton belted a solo home run in the first inning.
“The hitting is what we’ve improved on more than anything from last year, even from the time we started this year,” Jeffers said. “We’ve preached to hit it hard whether it’s a ground ball, a line drive or whatever. They’ve done a good job at making solid contact.”
There was plenty of good work in the circle as senior Haley Faulkner struck out five over the first three innings, and Horton had four strike outs in the last two innings.
Next up, the Junior Bucs will host Coalfield at ETSU’s Betty Basler Field in a sectional matchup on Friday.
Congratulations to our Lady Bucs Softball teamwho defeated North Greene in the championship game 6 to 0 to win the District 1-A softball championship on Friday evening. The Bucs continued on to defeat Washburn on Monday in the Region 1-A Semifinals by a score of 15 to 2! The Lady Bucs will play in the Region 1-A Championship game on Wednesday, May 15th. Way to go, Lovely Lady Bucs!
WJHL (Channel 11) had a clip from the Region 1_A Semifinal game. The following shows the entire sports section; 1-A softball is near the end.
http://www.wjhl.com/story/22241088/high-school-regional-semi-finals-513
Junior Bucs advance to final in 1-A softball
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Haley Faulkner struck out eight of the nine batters she faced in three innings and Belle Bright drove in four runs as University High whipped Washburn 15-2 in the Region 1-A softball semifinals on Monday.
The Lady Junior Bucs (24-14) play on the road Wednesday at Cosby in the region championship.
Bright, Tanner Horton and Barrett Wherry all tripled in the UH victory. Horton added two RBIs, while Madi Freeman went 2-for-2 and reached base another time with a walk. Faulkner also finished 2-for-2.
Lexi Crouthers came on in relief of Faulkner and struck out another three batters.
Lady Junior Bucs win 1-A title
Published May 10, 2013
By Douglas Fritz - Press Sports Writer
It took a mercy-rule slap in the face to awaken University High, and nobody was more ready to go than Tanner Horton.
After North Greene delivered an 11-1 six-inning beatdown in the championship round Friday at ETSU's Basler Field, the Lady Junior Bucs responded with a 6-0 win in the if-necessary game behind the hitting and pitching of their sophomore standout — giving UH the District 1-A softball championship.
"It's always important to win the district and keep going from there," said UH head coach Keith Jeffers. "We hope to see North Greene again next Wednesday."
The Lady Junior Bucs (23-14) will play host to Washburn in Monday's regional semifinal while North Greene (18-16) will travel to play Cosby.
Horton was simply dominant throughout the game. She went 4 for 4, drove in a run, and scored two runs.
"I was really focused," said Horton. "And I also got some good pitches that were easy to hit."
In the circle — after North Greene rang up 12 hits in the opener — Horton silenced the Lady Huskies' bats with a tidy three-hitter. She walked one and struck out 10.
"That was probably the best game I've pitched," said Horton. "At first I was a little nervous because I hadn't been pitching that well. But I was really excited, and I wanted to do good and help our team."
Only one North Greene runner reached second base in the game.
"Tanner did awesome," said Jeffers. "She hit her spots, she had good speed, and her off-speed pitches were working. She did all anybody could ask."
Horton said she had good movement with her pitches, especially her screwball.
UH quickly created an edge in the nightcap. Barrett Wherry and Horton led off the game with singles, and eventually advanced to second and third on a wild pitch.
Taylor Treadway then hit a short fly ball to right field, but Horton raced home anyway. The throw to the plate got away, and a hustling Belle Bright scored all the way from second base to give the Lady Junior Bucs a 2-0 lead.
UH wasted some chances to score with some wacky baserunning in the second and third innings, but finally broke the game open in the fifth inning — where their aggressive style on the bases actually paid off.
Horton smacked an RBI single, and eventually scored from third base when North Greene tried to make a play on a runner who drifted away from first base.
Treadway doubled with two outs, stole third, and scored on the catcher's throwing error to make it 5-0.
In the seventh inning, UH added an insurance run on Lexi Crouthers' bases-loaded walk.
North Greene coach Renee Light said her girls likely ran out of gas.
"We played two tough games yesterday, and I feel awesome about our performance in the first game tonight," said Light. "But in the second game, bodies were tired and arms were worn out."
———
North Greene 11, University High 1
It was all Huskies as they pounded out 12 hits.
Amethist Crawford led the way with three hits and two runs batted in. Talley Bailey added two hits and two RBIs while Shania Harmon also totaled two RBIs.
Jessie Donihue got the win in the circle, going the distance with no walks and no strikeouts.
UH had just four hits, two by Sarah Higginbotham. Haley Faulkner took the loss in the circle, giving up 11 runs, seven earned. She walked four and struck out 10.
Congratulations to our Lady Bucs Softball team who defeated Unaka, with a score of 14-6 on Wednesday night in the District 1-A softball tournament winners’ bracket final at Basler Field. Lady Bucs will play for the District Championship on Friday evening at ETSU's Betty Basler Softball field. Come out and support out Swinging, Running, Throwing, Catching, Ducking? Bucs!!!
Congratulations to our Lady Bucs Softball team who defeated Cloudland (10 to 0) in their first game of the District Tournament! Read entire Press Article on our
Athletic News page ! The Lady Bucs are scheduled to play on Tuesday, May 7th, at Unaka, at 7:00 p.m. in the Winners bracket final. The District 1-A Tournament games are being played at ETUS's Basler Field. Come out and support our Swinging Ladies! Go, Bucs, Go!
The following article was printed in the
Johnson City News and Neighbor
(727th Edition 05.11.13-05.17.13)
Youth and experience — University High had the best of both worlds in a 10-0 victory over Cloudland on Monday night in the District 1-A softball tournament.
Eighth-grader Ari Ramsaran led the youth movement with a three-run home run in the third inning which bounced off the scoreboard at Betty Basler Field, and senior pitcher Haley Faulkner gave UH (21-13) the experience, allowing just one hit against the Lady Highlanders in the winners’ bracket semifinal.
Unaka defeated North Greene 6-1 in the other semifinal after Cloudland (3-15) took a 5-3 win over Hampton in a battle of No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.
“That was pretty neat to see her hit it off the scoreboard,” an UH head coach Keith Jeffers said about Ramsaran’s three-run shot. “That was something like you’d see in a movie. We’ve been working on hitting it hard on every at-bat.”
Apparently, the youngster has taken notice. She was 3-for-3 which included a pair of doubles before Cloudland decided to walk her on the final at-bat.
That didn’t work out either as Ramarsan scored off a throwing error to end the game in the sixth inning.
Faulkner did her part as well.
She was 2-for-3 at the plate and even more effective in the circle, giving up just one hit, a single to Cloudland lead-off Kelly King. In fact, that was all that kept her from a perfect game with no walks and eight strikeouts.
“I had my pill drop and my screwball working a lot,” Faulkner said. “We had to come out and do well this game to work towards getting better throughout the tournament. I’m glad we won. It was a good way to start the tournament.”
There was plenty of run support as the Junior Bucs had nine runs in the second, third and fourth innings. They had 13 hits overall with catcher Belle Bright going 3-for-4, Mollee Cohee 2-for-3 and Barrett Wherry 2-for-4.
“If we can hit like this, we will be OK,” Jeffers said. “We’ve hit the ball the last 2-3 weeks really well. We’ve just got to keep up hitting like this and we’ll be fine.”
Hunter McKinney suffered the loss for the Highlanders (3-15), who were hurt by six errors.
The Jr. Bucs will meet rival Unaka in a winners’ bracket final tonight at 7 p.m. The teams split during the regular season.
“Whoever wins that game is going to be in the championship game, so that’s a big thing,” Jeffers said. “It’s a rivalry that has gone back long before me. Unaka and UH, that’s something big every year.”
Here we come again! The Lady Bucs defeated Happy Valley tonight 12 to 1! Ouch! Girls played well defensively and really hit the ball! So proud of our Lady Bucs
April 29th -
The Lady Bucs Softball team lost to Elizabethton tonight 9 to 8 in their final game of the regular season.
Tournaments begin next week
East Tennessee Classic -
disappointing weekend at the softball fields. Scores were as follows:
UH 10, Sullivan North 0 *** Win ***
Rhea County 3, UH 2
Unicoi County 9, UH 1
John Battle 9, UH 0 Shake it off! Bucs will rise again!
Winning streak continues! Lady Bucs defeated Cosby - both games of the Double Header - 10 to 0 and 5 to 0.
How about those Lady Bucs!!!!
Congratulations to our Lady Bucs Softball team for repeated Victories the past few games! Tuesday night, April 23rd is
Senior Night
and will be dedicated to Kirah!
On Thursday, UH Lady Bucs defeated North Greene in both games of a Conference Double-Header; first game score UH 3, NG 0; second game score UH 8, NG 0.
Tiny Day Tournament this past weekend:
On Saturday: scores were
Cherokee 2, UH 0
UH 3, Chuckey-Doak 1. ***Win***
Sunday: UH 2, Volunteer 1. *** Win ***
UH 7, Happy Valley 2. *** Win ***
Also, our Lady Bucs selected for the All-Tournament Team were Barrett Wherry and Haley Faulkner.
Lady Bucs Team MVP: Tanner Horton.
Jr. Lady Bucs were the Division Champions!!!
On Monday, UH Softball team defeated Hampton 21 to 0!!!!!. Our Lady Bucs are on the move!
Victory again! UH Softball Team defeated Cloudland on Tuesday, 9 to 0! Keep on swinging!, Lady Bucs!
Congratulations to our
Lady Bucs Softball team
for defeating Crockett 3 to 2 on Monday, April 15th, in 10 exciting innings!!
So proud of our Lady Bucs!!!!
Congratulations to our
Lady Bucs Softball team
who
defeated Cloudland 12 to 0 in a conference game at Cloudland on Tuesday, April 9th! Proud of the Lady Bucs!
Another victory! Defeated Unaka 10 to 3 on Wednesday!!
Also, congratulations to Belle Bright for hitting 2 Home Runs during the game! Love our Bucs!
Printable 2013 Schedule
Printable
Tiny Day Tournament Info
Printable
East Tennessee Classic Info
Team Roster
Haley Faulkner
Beth Morgan
Belle Bright
Taylor Treadway
Kutu Hall
Sarah Higginbotham
Barratt Wherry
Mollee Cohee
Tanner Horton
Lexi Coruthers
Madison Freeman
Mollie Dison
Frankie Cradic
Ari Ramsaran
Miranda Honeycutt
