Injury-depleted softball suffers first loss

After beginning the season with back-to-back Three Rivers Conference wins in the opening week, the Johnson County softball team crashed back to earth in week two against Elizabethton. Laci Gobble struck out 11 in four innings and the Cyclones rolled to a 21-0 victory on Tuesday. Johnson County sophomore pitcher Ezzy Barr, who was dominant during the Longhorns' opening two games, took the loss. She left the game prematurely with an ailment that isn't expected to sideline her for an extended period. "It was a little bit of tendinitis," Johnson County coach Greg Reece said. "They did put her on steroids. She'll be back this week. She actually played in one of the JV games (over the weekend), but just didn't pitch." Johnson County was also without its No. 2 pitcher. So, shortstop Ella Icenhour had to take one for the team, as they say, on the mound against Elizabethton. "Ella's a great teammate and a great kid," Reece said. The game's only drama came when Gobble had a perfect game going into the fourth inning. "C.J. Lipford got a hit to break up the perfect game," Reece said. "And Makenzie Shaw got a hit, too. We knew it was going to be tough going down there, and Elizabethton played extremely well." Shaw, a freshman, is being promoted to starting catcher. She'll be one of three freshman in the lineup for the banged-up Longhorns. "She does a pretty good job back there and she hits the ball well," Reece said. "And let me tell you, she's smart and she's very, very coachable. And a catcher's got to be flexible. I mean, she's a strong girl, but when we were putting her at first base in practice, she could do a split over there." The Elizabethton game was the only one of the week for Johnson County (2-0, 2-1). The junior varsity played three games in a tournament at Unicoi County, and freshman Clara Wilson performed well on the mound. "Clara Wilson pitched really well," Reece said. "She pitched all three games. She's the only JV pitcher we had with some injuries. We had nine (players) go on Friday and we had 10 go on Saturday." The varsity ranks are also thin due to attrition. "We'll go with this lineup, which will be freshmen in left field, right field and catcher, and a freshman as our second pitcher," Reece said. "We're still 2-0 in the district. We'll just keep plugging along and see what happens." Reece said games scheduled for Monday and Tuesday against Unicoi County and Hampton will almost certainly be postponed. The Unicoi game might be rescheduled for Saturday. The Longhorns will host Holston on Thursday and Cloudland on Friday.