Strong Second Half Bolsters Avery Soccer Shutout at Mountain Heritage

The Avery Lady Vikings soccer team continued its winning ways in a decisive 4-0 shutout win over the Lady Cougars of Mountain Heritage High School on Wednesday in Burnsville.

Avery, without the services of Hayley Pyatte and Elyse Perry for the game, got off to a slow start as it was unable to score through the first 40 minutes of action on the wet playing surface at Briggs Stadium. "We were making the Lady Cougars look good. We were reacting and not being proactive. We were being beaten to the ball and the girls were not connecting on their passes or connecting with the other team," as one Lady Vikings coach described the half.

The Lady Vikings appeared to break through for a score in the final five minutes of the first half, but the goal was disallowed after a handball ruling was made. The first half concluded with the teams in a scoreless tie.

The Big Red defense was bolstered in the half and througout the duration of the contest by the strong play of keeper Cailan Calloway as well as an impressive effort from the defensive back line of sweeper Hayden Blackburn and outside backs Kasey Brown and Megan Robbins. The defense continued to hold the Lady Cougars at bay and preserve the deadlock at intermission.

It was a case of "different half, different story" as the second stanza ensued. At the 47 minute mark, talented Lady Viking sophomore Mary Chesnut Smith made her presence felt as she received a pass from senior Rachel Buchanan and squeezed a shot by the Lady Cougars keeper to put the Big Red on the board.

Avery struck again for goals in the 55th and 63rd minutes, respectively to boost its lead to 3-0. Lady Vikings stopper Katelynn Eudy tallied both goals, one off a knee by Eudy following a Smith corner kick, the second also off a corner but with help from Melinda Eggers who settled the ball down to enable Eudy to put a foot to it.

The Lady Vikings registered its final score of the night as Buchanan sent another pass to Smith, who then eluded the defense and netted a left-footed rocket past the keeper to put the finishing touches on a 4-0 win.

The victory improves the Big Red to 6-2-1 overall, with a 3-1 mark in Western Highlands Conference play. Avery returns to action next week with a trio of matches, hosting Mitchell on Monday and Owen on Wednesday, with a trip to take on Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy squeezed in between on Tuesday evening.

Middle School Tournaments Postponed

This afternoon's scheduled Toe River Conference Tournament softball and baseball games at Mountain Heritage High School have been postponed due to rain. The start of the tournament will now take place on Thursday.

We have been informed that due to a high school baseball game at Heritage on Thursday, the TRC boys baseball first round games at 3:45 and 5:45 will now be played at Cane River Middle School. Cranberry Middle School will take on Bowman in the first game, with Avery Middle School taking on Harris in the night cap.

Middle School Baseball Teams Split Twin Bill to Close Regular Season

The Avery Panthers and Cranberry Wildcats played a pair of thrilling five-inning baseball games on Monday evening to wrap up regular season play in the Toe River Conference. In game one Avery defeated Cranberry 3-2 in extra innings, while in the second contest Cranberry came from behind to pick up a 6-3 victory. The victories were the first of the season for both clubs.

The Wildcats struck first in game one with a run in the top of the first inning as Patrick Jones reached base and came around to score on a single from Ian Franklin. Avery roared back in the bottom half of the frame to score a pair to take the lead at 2-1. Tyler Polsgrove singled for the Panthers with one out and both he and Chance Watson scored before inning's end to give the Avery club its edge.

Cranberry scored an equalizer in the top half of the third inning when Bryce Pittman laced a double to left field. Shea Buchanan came up next and also reached base on an error, helping Pittman come around to score the tying run.

The teams remained knotted at 2-2 despite both teams having opportunities to take a lead. In the fourth frame the Panthers stranded a runner at second base, while Cranberry stranded a runner at third in the top of the fifth inning. Avery looked poised to win in the bottom of the final frame in the five-inning regulation contest when it began the frame with a leadoff walk, but starting pitcher Shea Buchanan worked out of the jam to retire the side and force extra innings.

Avery starter Chance Watson retired Cranberry 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth inning and Watson helped his own cause in the bottom half of the frame when, with runners in scoring position, the right-hander laced a base hit to left-center field to plate Zack Dobson with the game-winner.

In the second game of the double dip, Avery took command off Cranberry starter Ian Franklin, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the second inning for an early 2-0 lead. Three walks and a hit batsman forced in one run, while an RBI groundout by Luke Wotell scored the other tally.

Avery starting pitcher Tyler Polsgrove struck out five hitters through his first two innings, but ran into trouble in the third when Cranberry plated three runs to erase the Panther lead and tie the contest at 3-3.

Relief pitcher Hunter Guinn led the inning off with a walk and later scored when a bases loaded walk to Franklin forced him in for Cranberry's first run. The Wildcats tacked on two additional runs when Bryce Pittman looped a two-run single to center.

Guinn settled in on the mound in the fourth inning, his second inning of relief work, as retired the Avery side in order.

The Wildcat offense again came to life in the bottom of the fourth. Trey Hicks singled to lead off the frame and stole second base. Guinn then walked to put two runners on. The runners advanced into scoring position on a passed ball and Patrick Jones brought in Hicks with an RBI groundout to first base to give the Wildcats the 4-3 advantage.

The key hit of the game came next as Franklin belted a two-out double to the right centerfield gap to score a pair of insurance runs and give the Wildcats a 6-3 lead going into the final inning.

Guinn took the hill to close out the final inning but Avery looked to rally as leadoff hitter Chance Watson reached first base on an errant throw. Watson's hit was followed up by a walk and hit batsman to load the bases and brought the go-ahead run to the plate.

In a season where two teams have seen little go right for them, Cranberry got a big defensive play when it needed it the most. A sharp line drive to shortstop by Avery's Walker Carswell was shorthopped by Shea Buchanan, who fired to home plate for a force play. Catcher Alex Barker then fired a throw to third base for another force and double play. Guinn then struck out the final batter of the game to seal the dramatic win.

Both squads will begin Toe River Conference Tournament action on Wednesday afternoon, with Avery as the #5 seed and Cranberry the #6 seed by virtue of a coin toss that occurred following Monday's games.

Smith Nets Four Goals as Avery Soccer Blanks Madison

The Madison Lady Patriots visited Newland on Monday night for their first meeting of the 2009 season. It took the Lady Vikings a little while to get back in the game mode after not having a game for eight days because of a rainy week, but Avery's offense hit high gear in a hurry in a 6-0 rout.

Avery finally managed to field a full roster of healthy players for Monday's match, though a number of players were still sporting tape or wrap jobs for minor injuries. The Lady Vikings looked plenty healthy from the outset, striking for a pair of goals within sixty seconds at the 14th minute of the match.

The first goal of the evening came when sophomores Melinda Eggers and Mary Chesnut Smith connected. Eggers sent Smith a short pass to the inside and Smith fired on goal for the first goal of the game. Less than a minute later, sophomore Emily Banner scored off a short cross from junior Hayley Pyatte.

In the 20th minute Avery built its lead to 3-0 as Mary Chesnut Smith placed a corner kick in front of the goal where sophomore Katelynn Eudy was able to head it into the goal. A pair of minutes later, Melinda Eggers passed the ball and Smith was able to take it to the goal for the final score of the first half as Avery held a commanding 4-0 halftime edge.

Avery picked up where it left off once the second half began. Seven minutes into the stanza, Smith challenged a short goal kick from the Madison keeper, won the ball from a Madison defender, and scored past the Lady Patriot goalie for a hat trick, pushing Avery's margin to five goals.

In the 69th minute of the match, a loose ball came back to Smith who shot from approximately 33 yards out, placing a ball just over the outreached hands of the keeper for the final goal of the match.

Following the tally, the Avery coaches pulled Smith from offense and placed her in goal for the remainder of the match.

A number of Lady Viking players had good looks at the goal and just missed, or the Patriot keeper was able to make a save. Senior keeper Cailan Callaway recorded her third shut-out of the young season and the Lady Vikings upped their record to 5-2-1, with a conference mark of 2-1.

Avery next takes to the pitch on Wednesday for a match in Burnsville against Mountain Heritage.