Varsity: Oneida soccer wins back-to-back to close out the regular season
Plus: Oneida softball defeats Scott in a nail biter despite Emmerson Swenson's grand slam, and Scott soccer's loss to Anderson County hurts the Highlanders in the district seeding.
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Soccer: Oneida defeats Rockwood, Oliver Springs to finish third in the district
ONEIDA | Levi James scored a pair of goals, one in each half, and Oneida closed out the regular season with a 5-0 win over Rockwood on Friday at Jane Terry Hoffman Field.
James scored in the game’s 22nd minute, then scored on a penalty kick in the 66th minute to pace his team to the shutout win.
Miles Laxton got the scoring started for Oneida, and Riley Shoemaker also scored in the first half, as Oneida turned a 1-0 lead into a 3-0 advantage in just over two minutes of play.
That’s the way the score stood at halftime. James’ goal midway through the second half made it 4-0, and Kaiden Krahn tacked on a goal in the 77th minute to set the final score.
Oneida outshot Rockwood 29-4.
The win was Oneida’s second of the week, both in district play. Earlier in the week, the Indians defeated Oliver Springs 8-0 after a big second half.
In that game, Shoemaker and Miles Laxton each scored two goals.
Shoemaker scored his first goal less than a minute into the game, followed by Laxton’s first goal just over three minutes into the game.
That’s the way things stood for nearly 30 minutes, until Laxton scored his second goal in the 30th minute to make it 3-0.
The Indians scored five goals in the second half, beginning with a Krahn goal, followed by a goal by Alex Torres. Shoemaker then scored his second goal, followed by a Sam Eckstein goal and then a PK by James to close things out with seven minutes remaining.
Oneida will host Oliver Springs again Monday in the district tournament.
Soccer: Highlanders’ loss to AC hurts in district standings
HUNTSVILLE | Scott High dominated possession and shot attempts in the first half of Monday’s regular season finale against rival Anderson County.
In fact, the Highlanders had no fewer than half a dozen point-blank looks at the goal, often in one-on-one situations with the AC keeper and a couple of times with the keeper out of position on a rebound. But they were not able to cash in.
Then AC took control in the second half after it appeared the heat — or maybe the energy expended in the first half — began to have an effect on the Highlanders. The Mavericks got a goal in midway through the second half to make it 1-0, and the Highlanders were unable to recreate the quality looks they had in the second half.
The game ended with that 1-0 score, as Anderson County sprung the upset to capture second place in the district standings and knock the Highlanders from first to third.
Gibbs, who Scott High defeated early in the season but who knocked off AC 6-0, jumped to first place in the standings with the Mavericks’ win.
The outcome of Monday’s game means the Highlanders will be on the road for the first round of the district tournament, playing at Anderson County on Monday. The winner of that game will advance to face either Gibbs or Clinton in the championship game on Wednesday.
Softball: Oneida defeats Scott despite Swenson’s grand slam
HUNTSVILLE | For Emmerson Swenson, it was an unforgettable moment — a grand slam late in the game against an inner-county rival.
But, in the end, it was Oneida that walked away victorious, as the Lady Indians survived Swenson’s fifth inning home run for a 6-5 win over the Lady Highlanders.
It was a 6-1 Oneida lead when Swenson stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Having already driven home a run earlier, Swenson cranked one over the fence to score four more.
The inning had started with a base hit by Kynlie Frogge, followed by a walk by Morgan Hooks and a Brittany Morrow single to load the bases with one out.
After a strikeout, the Highlanders were down to their last out of the inning when Swenson hit one over the fence.
Although it was a 6-5 game, the Lady Highlanders could not complete the comeback. They got the tying run into scoring position in the sixth inning on a one-out base hit by Frogge, but Oneida ended the inning on a double play.
Then, in the seventh inning, Scott High got a runner aboard when Hooks drew a lead-off walk, but Oneida recorded three straight outs to end the game.
The Lady Indians spotted Scott a 1-0 lead in the first inning before going to work, putting up two runs in the second to take the lead. It had been a big fifth inning for Oneida before Swenson got to the plate, as the Lady Indians scored four to turn the 2-1 lead into a 6-1 lead in the top half of the inning.
Kennedy Shoemaker and Shiloh Shoemaker each had two RBIs for Oneida, while Shayla Shoemaker and Melanie Lee drove in runs, as well.
Lee, Shiloh and Shayla Shoemaker, Jolie Duncan, Kamryn Lee and Kaidence Lewallen each scored a run for the Lady Indians.
Duncan struck out seven batters across seven innings to pick up the win.
Oneida started the fifth inning with back-to-back base hits by Shayla Shoemaker and Lee, then scored two on a double by Shayla Shoemaker. Later, Kennedy Shoemaker hit a two-out, two-run triple to make it 6-1.
The Lady Indians, who ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak, picked up wins in a double-header at Jellico on Wednesday, winning 14-2 and 29-13.
In the first game against the Blue Devils, Melanie Lee had three RBIs and scored a run, while Kamryn Lee had two RBIs and scored two, and Lillian Hailey had two RBIs and scored one. Also batting in runs against Jellico were Ashlyn Cotton and Shayla Shoemaker. Also scoring runs were Shayla Shoemaker, Kennedy Shoemaker and Cotton, with two each, while Lewallen, Katie Mae Sexton, Shiloh Shoemaker and Josie Reed scored runs, as well.
In game two, Oneida used a 14-run first inning to seize control and never looked back. Sexton had four RBIs and scored four runs, while Shayla Shoemaker had four RBIs and scored three runs. Melanie Lee had three RBIs and scored three runs, while Jolie Duncan had three RBIs and scored four runs. Shiloh Shoemaker had three RBIs and scored one run. Reed had a pair of RBIs and scored three runs, while Hailey had a pair and scored two runs. Cotton had an RBI, as well, and scored three.
The Lady Indians had five extra base hits in the second game: Triples by Duncan and Sexton, and doubles by Shayla Shoemaker, Shiloh Shoemaker and Taylor Smith. Kamryn Lee had a double in the first game.
Oneida entered district tournament play on Friday, and led 5-0 in the first inning when the game was suspended due to inclement weather. Jolie Duncan had a three-run double, while Kennedy Shoemaker had a two-run single to give the Lady Indians the big lead early.
Noteworthy…
Oneida baseball dropped a narrow, 5-4 decision in the District 2-2A tournament at Alcoa on Thursday, falling to Gatlinburg-Pittman. Statistics have not yet been reported. The tournament is double-elimination...
Scott High baseball ended its season in the District 4-3A tournament on Wednesday, falling to Clinton 19-3 one night after a 16-0 loss to Gibbs. Micah Boles and Jackson Byrd drove in runs for Scott High in the game against Clinton. Runs were scored by Josh Byrge, Jayden Parra and Levi West...
Scott High softball fell to Cumberland Gap 16-0 on Thursday, and was to have faced Clinton on Friday. After making the drive to Anderson County, however, the game was postponed due to rain. It will be played on Monday...
Oneida soccer will host Oliver Springs on Monday, and Scott High soccer will travel to Anderson County. Both of those games are elimination games...
Oneida softball’s District 2-2A tournament game against Pigeon Forge, which found the Lady Indians up 5-0 in the first inning when play was suspended due to weather, will be played Monday with a full restart, meaning Friday’s results do not count...
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