Unicoi County and Chuckey Doak squared off Monday night in Lower Afton with first place in the District 1-2A standings on the line. Both teams flexed their offensive muscle—combining for 21 runs on 23 hits and six home runs—but it was the Blue Devils who pulled away for a 14-7 victory. With the win, Unicoi County improves to 13-7 overall and remains unbeaten in conference play at 6-0.
Kolby Jones led Unicoi County’s 11-hit attack, going 3-for-5 with two singles and a home run while driving in five runs. Tanner White added four RBIs with a homer and a single, and both Reid Bogart and Isaac Harris contributed two RBIs apiece with home runs.
Chuckey Doak also found success at the plate, collecting 12 hits. Kiptyn Ball drove in four runs with two singles and a home run, while Gavin Crum added a homer and a single. Shane Cook and Cooper Seay each went 2-for-4 with a double and a single.
Harris earned the win on the mound for Unicoi County, tossing six strong innings. He allowed six runs on 10 hits, striking out four and walking three. Lynkin Cutshaw took the loss for Chuckey Doak, working 5 2/3 innings while allowing eight runs on six hits with five walks and nine strikeouts.
The Black Knights struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Cook led off with a double to center, and Ball followed with a bunt single. Cook later scored on an errant throw, giving Chuckey Doak a 1-0 lead. The Black Knights threatened for more, putting runners at the corners, but Harris escaped the jam by turning a key double play.
Unicoi County answered in the top of the second. Jones reached on an error, and Harris helped his own cause by launching a two-run homer to right, putting the Blue Devils ahead 2-1. Unicoi County then capitalized on three Chuckey Doak errors and added three singles to plate four more runs and take a 6-1 lead.
Chuckey Doak responded in the third, loading the bases with no outs, but managed just one run on a sacrifice fly by Seay to cut the deficit to 6-2.
Both teams traded runs in the fourth. Jones delivered an RBI single for Unicoi County, while Crum answered with a solo home run for the Black Knights.
The Blue Devils extended their lead in the sixth when Jones greeted reliever Collin Bishop with a two-run blast to left-center, making it 9-3.
Unicoi County broke the game open in the seventh, scoring five runs on a groundout RBI and a pair of two-run home runs from White and Bogart to stretch the lead to 14-3.
Chuckey Doak continued to fight, plating four runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the score more respectable at 14-7. The highlight of the inning came when Ball crushed a three-run homer deep into the night.
Now 9-8 overall and 7-1 in conference play, the Black Knights will look to bounce back Tuesday as they travel to Unicoi County for game two of the conference series. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
