Prep Roundup

BASEBALL:

Avery baseball defeated Mountain Heritage in varsity action 10-9 on Tuesday evening in Burnsville. Chris Childress and Brooks Oakley took the mound to help lead the Vikings to the one-run win. The team stands at 4-6 on the season and will host the North Wilkes Vikings on Friday afternoon at Avery High.

Avery's JV squad fell 12-0 to Mountain Heritage on Tuesday and will take on North Wilkes' JV squad following Friday's varsity game.

SOFTBALL:

Avery softball swept a doubleheader over Cloudland by scores of 11-1 and 14-11, respectively.

Lady Vikings Dominate Erwin 7-1

Despite playing without two starters in the match, Avery's talent and skill was simply too much for an overmatched Erwin squad, as the Lady Vikings took a 7-1 victory to run its consecutive games won/tied streak to 12 games.

Senior Katie Peters started the scoring frenzy with a goal in the 18th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later Melinda Eggers found the back of the net with a helper from Peters to push Avery ahead by a pair of goals. Just three minutes elapsed before Avery scored again, this time Rachel Buchanan provided the assist on Peters' second goal of the half. Avery was not finished scoring for the half, however, as Peters earned a hat trick before intermission, scoring off a Brianna Strange assist in the match's 37th minute for a 4-0 Avery halftime lead.

The Big Red continued to rain shots on the weary Erwin net-minder in the second half. Rachel Buchanan crossed a pass to Emily Banner in the 51st minute, who peeled a shot into the net for a five-goal advantage. Strange got into the scoring act for Avery two minutes later off yet another Buchanan touch.

A seventh and final goal scored came off the foot of Emily Banner who dribbled downfield on a breakaway and blasted a shot for a 7-0 lead. Avery used much of the half to move players to various positions on the field in preparation for future contests. Erwin remained aggressive to the end, preventing an Avery shutout in the 73rd minute on a goal by Haley Allen for the final scoring margin.

"The game gave us an opportunity to play a couple of freshmen more minutes than they've had to play for us in a game this season. We wanted to see how our chemistry would be with the new girls playing, and for the most part I felt like they did a good job," Coach Tom Evaul said after the win. "This game gave us a chance to play a lot of girls in a lot of different positions, because down the road we'll need to know what we've got."

Although the Lady Vikings have been dominant at times, the coaching staff knows there is still work to do for the team to be able to reach its ultimate goals for this year. "At times we were a little over-aggressive in the second half. We weren't being very patient and we were stabbing at the ball at times."

Avery gets some much needed rest before Wednesday evening's showdown at MacDonald Stadium with conference foe Hendersonville, one of only two teams to defeat the Lady Vikings this season as they upended the Big Red 3-0 in a match back on March 17th. The coaches see a couple of keys for the Lady Vikings to be successful in returning the favor and handing the Lady Bearcats a defeat.

"Their keeper plays as far up as near midfield, and we will need to be able have our back girls take shots. The number one thing we will have to do is finish. We had opportunities tonight to finish and couldn't take advantage of them," Coach Evaul explained. "We will also have to do a better job of protecting our weak side. That's how Erwin scored their goal, and Hendersonville really likes to use the cross to take advantage of a team's weak side, so we will have to really watch that. If we do those things, I think we'll be okay."

Both teams will enter Wednesday's contest ranked in the state's top ten 1A rankings and should be an exciting match. Opening kick is slated at 6 p.m. at MacDonald Stadium.

Lady Vikings Shutout Owen for Win #11

Avery's Lady Vikings soccer team continued its hot play with a 4-0 blanking of the Owen Warlassies Wednesday afternoon at MacDonald Stadium.

The Vikings opened the scoring as, off of a corner kick, Emily Banner assisted on a goal by Elyse Perry in the 22nd minute to lead 1-nil.

Later in the first half the Lady Vikings received a scare as freshman Mary Chesnut Smith took a kicked ball directly to her eye area. Smith was helped off the field suffering from blurred vision and sat out the remainder of the first half.

Fortunately she was able to return to the pitch, playing on the front line in the second half.
Late in the first half Avery scored a second goal as Rachel Buchanan scored in the 36th minute to increase the lead to 2-0, a lead that remained unchanged through the rest of the half.
Smith made her presence felt almost immediately as the second half began. Two minutes into the half the freshman dribbled over 30 yards by the Owen defense and fired a shot past the Owen keeper for a 3-0 Avery lead.

The scoring was closed out by the Vikings on a goal in the 48th minute by Katelynn Eudy off the foot of a Mary Chesnut Smith corner kick. The effort was the final goal as Avery went on to cruise to the conference win.

"The second half was the opposite side of the coin from the first half. In the first half we were doing everything up the middle, right where Owen's best players are, and everything was bungling down" Coach Tom Evaul said after the win. "There was no intensity in the first half, and we were just standing around and not getting to the ball. I think in the second half the girls responded well and were more aggressive. We were still sending the ball in the middle more than we wanted them to. Some of our younger girls who haven't played a lot, like Megan Robbins, came through and showed some promise, showing us some things they haven't shown us before. As a team we still need to stay sharp and not get complacent or comfortable because we have two big games still coming up."

Avery's victory improves their record to 11-2-2 on the year, with a match on Thursday afternoon at home against Erwin.

Lady Vikings Soccer Notches Tenth Win with 4-1 triumph over Madison

The Avery women's soccer team improved its record to 10-2-2 on Monday afternoon at MacDonald Stadium by defeating the visiting Lady Patriots of Madison County.

Freshman Mary Chesnut Smith (pictured) tallied two of the Avery scores on the night. Katie Peters began the scoring with a goal in the game's seventh minute off a Melinda Eggers assist. Madison answered the goal quickly, within 30 seconds in fact, to tie the match at 1-1.

In the 21st minute Avery took advantage of a direct kick after the Madison goalie collided outside the box with Avery's Katie Peters. Smith made the Patriots pay for the mistake, curling a shot into the left half of the goal as Avery retook the lead at 2-1, a lead that they held at intermission.

Avery further padded its lead in the second half with a pair of goals. Smith struck again for her second goal in the game's 50th minute to take a 3-1 advantage, while in the 59th minute Melinda Eggers closed the scoring as she rushed toward the goal on a direct kick, caught her foot on a rebound and guided a shot into the back of the net for the 4-1 victory.

"The goal that Madison scored was a mistake, but I'd rather us make it against Madison than against Polk. Mistakes happen, but we were confident we could come back from the mistake and be alright," Avery soccer coach Lou Brancourt said after the win. "Tonight we tried to manage the match, our fitness, and the mental side to prepare ouselves for the bigger games coming up in the season. As coaches we don't try to ask for too much, and at halftime we didn't yell or scream at the girls and they responded well from the talk."

Avery does much more than just score goals, as the team's defense has held opponents to only a 1.07 GAA (Goals Against Average) for the season. "The girls work hard on the defensive side. The work of Katelynn Eudy in the middle is like having both a defensive midfielder and a stopper in one," Coach Brancourt said. "She and Chesnut are able to cover a lot of space and control the field. It allows us to make a faux pas from time to time and still recover."

Avery takes on Owen at MacDonald Stadium on Wednesday at 5 p.m. and host Erwin High School on Thursday at 5 p.m.

Avery Softball and Baseball Travel to Madison

On Friday afternoon the Avery softball and baseball squads trekked to Marshall for conference contests against the Madison Patriots.

In the softball contest, the Lady Vikings hoped to bounce back from a 13-0 loss at Polk County. Unfortunately the Big Red ran into the freight train of Madison junior pitcher Laurel Gregg. The junior right-hander is among the state leaders in ERA and strikeouts, and has thrown five no-hitters and eight shutouts this season.

Gregg struck out 15 Avery batters en route to an 11-0 Madison victory. The hurler allowed only one base runner, as Samantha Shook reached on a passed ball from a dropped third strike. Tiffani Taffer led Madison (11-1, 5-1) at the plate by going 2 for 3 with a double and a triple. Kaitlyn Huff went 2 for 3 with a run.

In baseball action, Coach Benny Wellborn's Avery Vikings looked poised for a victory Friday as Avery grabbed an early 4-0 lead behind timely hitting the pitching of southpaw starter Chris Childress, and led 6-2 as late as the bottom of the third frame. Errors and mental mistakes reared their ugly heads in the third frame. Avery was also the victim of a questionable safe ruling on an apparent tag by pitcher Chris Childress of a Madison runner. The play allowed Madison to come back to take a 7-6 advantage after four innings.

As the clouds thickened and darkened overhead, the rain began to fell in earnest. Before the worst of the rain, the Patriots picked up a pair of insurance runs to lead 9-6 going into the top of the sixth inning.

Facing the prospect of a second loss for the week, the Vikings reached down deep to ignore the elements and battle back. Pedro Benavides drew a walk and stole second base, and Seth Phillips followed with a walk to put a pair of runners on. Junior catcher Zac Hall came to the plate and 'Man-Bear', as his teammates refer to him, came through in the clutch in the largest of fashions, walloping a mammoth three-run home run over the left field wall to tie the game.

The Vikings were retired to end the half inning, but faced a different dilemma. The team had to complete the Madison half of the sixth inning before play was halted by umpires due to rain or, according to the umps, the score would revert to the previous inning (where Madison led 9-6). Avery reliever Sutton Stanley retired the first two batters, allowed two Patriots to get on base, but battled back to induce a third out to close the frame.

Umpires called a stoppage of play and deemed the contest a suspended game, meaning the teams must resume the game at a later date with the same score and statistics as when the game was halted. As of Friday evening, the Vikings appear headed back to Madison on Monday afternoon to resume the 9-9 ballgame.

MONDAY UPDATE: The Vikings returned to Marshall on Monday afternoon to resume the game suspended by rain last Friday. Seth Phillips went to the mound in relief of Sutton Stanley for the contest. Neither team could score in the seventh inning as action resumed, forcing the game into 'extra innings'.

In the top of the eighth, the Vikings batted around and scored six runs to take a 15-9 lead, with Phillips closing the door in the bottom of the frame to give the Big Red a win to finish a game that took three days to complete.

"Everybody hit the ball. We just started hitting the ball, hitting line drives and put the ball into play over their head basically," Coach Benny Wellborn said after the win. "They hit a couple of hard balls, but we were able to hold them, which was the important thing."

The win was particularly sweet since the Vikings had to give up a day of practice for Tuesday's matchup with Mountain Heritage in order to travel to Marshall to complete Friday's game. "I tried to use the trip as motivation to prepare the team. None of us were thrilled over having to make another trip down there and lose a day of practice. We wanted to finish it early and we did so," the coach added.

Due to Monday's finish, Avery was forced to cancel Thursday's contest at McDowell because a team cannot play more than three opponents in a week. Avery already has the Heritage contest as well as a home game on Friday with North Wilkes.

Avery Soccer Shuts Out Mountain Heritage, Plays Polk to Scoreless Tie

Avery concluded its three-game soccer week with a 3-0 victory over Mountain Heritage at home on Wednesday night and played Polk County to a 0-0 tie in a game called in overtime due to lightning.

In Wednesday's match Avery scored first only four minutes into the match as Melinda Eggers assisted on a goal scored by Katie Peters. The Lady Vikings struck again in the 31st minute off a corner kick by Mary Chesnut Smith. Kaley Faulkner controlled the loose ball in front of goal and fired a shot past the Heritage keeper for a 2-0 advantage, which held until intermission.

The contest was a physical match as there was a fair amount of pushing, holding, and tugging. Peters scored her second goal in the game in the final two minutes of the second half, this one off a through pass by Emily Banner to provide the final margin.

The win improved Avery to 9-2-1, the second best start to a season in program history. "We knew tonight would be as rough and challenging a game as Monday was. Madison had tied Heritage, so we knew this wasn't going to be an easy game. Plus three of our starters missed Tuesday's practice with sickness, but still came out to play today," Coach Tom Evaul said after the match. "We're really proud of the team tonight, especially our five defenders. They have a pretty good offensive attack, but our defense did a good job of collapsing and controlling the ability of their offense to advance."

On Friday evening the #8 ranked Vikings played host to the #4 ranked Polk Lady Wolverines to a scoreless tie on a cloudy and rainy pitch at MacDonald Stadium. The match was a rough and tumble affair with few whistles coming from the officials in relation to the physicality of the game. Neither team cracked the scoreboard in the first 40 minutes of play. Avery came out more aggressively on the attack in the second half of play as the team continued to gain confidence against a club who they have yet to defeat in 1A play.

Weather played a role through the course of the match as the rain fell at the match's outset, then tapered off as the match ensued. Following regulation and half of the overtime session, lightning was sighted in the distance, prompting officials to call a halt to the contest with the score tied.

Avery is 9-2-2 on the season (4-1-1 in conference play) and plays three home games this week against Madison (Monday), Owen (Wednesday), and Erwin (Thursday @ the changed time of 5 p.m.).

Ashe/Avery Baseball Game postponed

This afternoon's scheduled baseball game in Newland between Avery and Ashe County has been postponed due to rain. When we get word of rescheduled make-up date, it will be posted.

Errors Sink Vikings Ship on the Baseball Diamond against Polk

In a rematch of a game just 7 days earlier, the Avery Vikings played host to the Polk County Wolverines. Avery grabbed an advantage early in the game, but costly mistakes proved the difference as Polk took a 13-8 victory.

The Wolverines drew first blood when a passed ball allowed a runner from third to scamper home with the game's opening run. Avery rallied back quickly, however, as a towering two-run home run by senior pitcher Seth Phillips off Wolverines starter Brandon Jolley highlighted a four-run frame for the Big Red, staking the Vikings to a 4-1 edge after one inning.

Avery maintained its lead until the top of the third inning, where a one-out, three run home run by catcher Nick Jolley spearheaded a four-run Polk rally, helping the Wolverines regain the lead at 5-4. Following a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half of the frame, Polk added three runs on only one hit as a pair of Avery errors allowed the Wolverines to build an 8-4 margin.

Avery got a run back in the bottom half of the inning as second baseman Pedro Benavides singled and eventually came around to score on a Chris Childress RBI single. Polk negated the Avery run in the next half inning as a solo home run to right centerfield by second baseman J.P. Ruth off starter Seth Phillips made the score 9-5.

Over the next two innings, leadoff hitters got on base for the Vikings, but Avery could not bring any runners around to cross home.

Polk added a tenth run in the top of the sixth inning off Vikings reliever Chris Childress to lead 10-5, then tacked on three additional runs of insurance in the seventh to take a 13-5 edge. Childress struck out five Wolverines over his two innings of work, but also surrendered four walks and hit a batter.

In the bottom of the seventh and final frame, Avery rallied to score three runs off Polk reliever Nick Jolley, as pinch hitters Jack Buchanan and Luke Pittman each reached base, followed by a three-run home run down the right field line by Brooks Oakley. Unfortunately, the comeback bid ended as Jolley retired the next three hitters in order to close the contest.

"We made some errors, but we were able to take advantage of some of their early errors and score a few runs. The biggest thing for us right now is that we had a mental letdown out there tonight," Avery head coach Benny Wellborn said after the game. "We had bases loaded once and had runners trying to run when they shouldn't have, but that wasn't the only thing. We had some mental breakdowns all around and we have to do a better job with that."

Avery starter Seth Phillips threw 110 pitches over five innings, struck out seven hitters while surrendering only six hits. Avery has a home game scheduled on Thursday with Ashe County, but rain in the forecast may force change. The Vikings will travel to Marshall on Friday for a conference game against Madison.

Fierce Second Half Sparks Lady Vikings to 3-1 Win at Madison

The Avery Lady Vikings ran their record to 8-2-1 and proved why they are worthy of the #8 ranking in the latest 1A state poll in defeating the Madison Lady Patriots 3-1 in Marshall Monday night.

In the opening 40 minutes the Avery squad battled a drizzling rain and cool temperatures at O.E. Roberts Stadium, as well as a determined Lady Patriots team hungry for its first win of the year.

A handball called inside the penalty box area resulted in the only tally of the opening half, as Madison's Michelle LaFountain scored on the kick in the upper right corner of the goal in the 32nd minute, giving the Lady Patriots the lead at intermission.

A lackluster first half of play for the Big Red made a 180-degree turn in the second half, as the Lady Vikings played one of its strongest halves of soccer in the season thus far. Avery scored the equalizer just 35 seconds into the half as Katie Peters took a picture perfect through pass and blazed a shot past the Madison goalkeeper to knot the score at one apiece.

Avery took the lead at the 52 minute mark as Elyse Perry continued her offensive surge with a goal, chipping a shot just over the head and outstretched arms of the Madison goalie. The shot squeezed just under the crossbar on the left side to put the Vikings up 2-1.

As the half continued, the Lady Vikings found themselves with a number of additional opportunities to score, but were unable to add an all-important insurance goal. Avery was finally able to score for a third time in the half at 69:00 as a solid header from 10 yards out by Katie Peters off a Perry assist sailed over the top of the keeper and nestled its way into the back of the net for the 3-1 advantage. The senior scored two goals in the contest and performed admirably despite suffering throughout the day from flu-like symptoms.

At the 77 minute mark, Madison benefitted from a questionable takedown call inside the penalty box, affording the Lady Patriots a second penalty shot in the game. This time, however, Avery keeper Cailan Calloway was equal to the task, extending left to successfully turn away the Madison shot attempt. The Vikings keeper was strong in goal, continuing her stretch of solid play in net as Calloway has surrendered only one goal (the first half penalty goal) over the past four contests.

"Last year in a game like tonight, Coach Lou and I would have been screaming and yelling at halftime. But we were able to keep our composure tonight and the girls kept theirs as well," head coach Tom Evaul said after the win. "We told the girls the ball didn't bounce our ways and that they needed to stay calm and cool. In the second half the ball bounced our way. We told the girls if we scored early we would win this game, and Katie came out in the first 30 seconds and did just that. Their keeper didn't move as we caught them off guard quickly, which pushed some wind out of their sails and into ours."

Avery plays a pair of additional home matches this week, a game Wednesday against Mountain Heritage, and a duel of top-10 ranked 1A teams as Polk County comes to town on Friday evening, a change from the original schedule.

Come out and support this talented group of young ladies and watch some exciting soccer action!

Wednesday Prep Roundup

Avery baseball scored three first-inning runs, then staved off a late Hampton rally to hold on for a 5-4 win on Wednesday in Carter County, TN.

Preston Jennings got the starting pitching nod and threw well in his season debut. The senior right hander went three innings+. Avery built a 4-0 lead, but Hampton rallied to score three runs in the bottom of the third on five straight base hits to cut the lead to one. Jon Hensley came on in relief of Jennings in the third, but was unable to retire a batter. Coach Benny Wellborn then called on Brooks Oakley to pitch, and the right hander struck out two of the next three batters and went the distance to secure the win.

Avery plays at Wilkes Central in a non-conference game on Friday.

In soccer action Wednesday evening the Avery Lady Vikings extended its non-losing streak to three games with a 1-0 win at MacDonald Stadium against the Pisgah Lady Bears. The game winning goal occurred in the 67th minute as Brianna Strange assisted on a goal by Mary Chesnut Smith. Avery plays this evening in a non-conference match at North Wilkes High School.

Vikings Outdueled by Wolverines in Polk County

The Avery JV and varsity baseball teams traveled to Columbus this evening for a 1A conference match against Polk County. The junior varsity squad had difficulty against the strong pitching of the Polk southpaw starter, only mustering a single walk in five innings of play.

Avery starter Daniel Huff gave a solid pitching effort to the Big Red, surrendering only three runs through the first three innings of play. Polk used timely hitting and took advantage of walks issued by the Avery relief corps to extend the lead to an eventual 10-0 victory.

Tuesday's varsity action set up to be an exciting pitcher's matchup between Avery's Seth Phillips and Polk's Brandon Jolley. The two did not disappoint, combining for 18 strikeouts in the contest. Despite the strong performances on the mound, both teams were able to generate offense at the plate and on the base paths.

Polk took advantage of a walk, two errors, and a balk (all with two outs) to score four runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Avery surrendered a fifth run in the third inning to lead 5-0, but the Vikings pieced together four straight singles off Jolley in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 5-3. This, Avery's final and best offensive threat of the game, ended with the bases loaded. Jolley helped his own cause with a solo home run to right field for an insurance run to provide for the final 6-3 margin as Brandon's brother Nick came on in the top of the seventh for a 1-2-3 inning to pick up the save.

Phillips pitched a complete game of six innings, throwing 115 pitches and striking out 10 hitters while giving up only eight hits. Avery takes on Hampton and Wilkes Central in non-confernece games later this week.

Lady Bucs Already Looking For Next Seaon

The ETSU Lady Bucs made history last Saturday night in, of all places, Des Moines, Iowa. When the Lady Bucs took the floor at the Wells Fargo Center, one of the most successful seasons in the program’s history reached a historic milestone as the Lady Bucs squared off against Oklahoma State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

“I’m very proud of my teammates, we did something that no other team has done before at East Tennessee State,” Michelle DeVault said in an NCAA interview. “We proved that we not only belonged in this tournament, but that we could play with the best and we hung in there with a really good team, so I’m really proud of my teammates.”

“It feels good just to make history and get into the history books,” TaRonda Wiles said at a postgame press conference. “We want to go farther next year.”

Wiles’ teammates echoed her thoughts of next year, and for good reason. While the Lady Bucs fell to Oklahoma State, the Lady Bucs finished what is arguably the best season in program history. In addition to the program’s first NCAA bid, the Lady Buccaneers tied a school record 21 wins, including winning 15 of their last 17 games, capturing both the regular season and tournament Atlantic Sun Conference championships. The Lady Bucs also scored 2,478 points, the most team points scored in a single season in program history. While they lose four talented seniors, DeVault, Jenny Norman, Nichelle Akers and Kelly Truman, the Lady Bucs return nine players including Siarre Evans, who was the team’s leading scorer and rebounder.

“To be apart of this team with such great chemistry, it felt like we should have gone farther in the tournament,” Latisha Belcher said. “But that will have to wait until next year.”

Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke even praised the Lady Bucs in his postgame press conference for the heart and dedication they showed.

“Credit East Tennessee State, they outcoached and outplayed us tonight,” Budke said. “They believe in themselves and they believe they can play with anybody.”

While this season did not end like a fairy tale, the Lady Bucs have every intention of playing the part of Cinderella next season.

Lady Vikings Drop Match at Hendersonville & Tie Burns; Bounce Back with Rout at Mitchell

Despite a rainout which postponed Wednesday’s conference match with Polk County, the Avery High women’s soccer team competed in a pair of physical road matches, dropping a 3-0 decision in Hendersonville to the top-5 ranked Lady Bearcats, but rebounded to finish with a 2-2 overtime tie at Burns High School on Good Friday afternoon.

In Monday’s match, Avery held the Lady Bearcats to a goal for most of the first half. However, Hendersonville was able to take advantage of Lady Viking mental miscues to bury an additional two goals in net in the final two minutes of the half to get its three-goal advantage. The second half was a stalemate as the Lady Vikings were held scoreless for a second straight match. The defense remained dedicated to the effort, however, holding the Bearcats scoreless in the final 40 minutes.

“Mentally we didn’t come prepared to play the match, especially in the first half, and they just took it to us,” Avery head coach Tom Evaul said following the defeat.

On Friday the Lady Vikings made the trek to Lawndale in Cleveland County for a non-conference match with the 3A Burns Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Vikings struck early in the contest for a goal, as freshman Emily Banner scored in the first four minutes off an assist by Brianna Strange. The goal held up as the Lady Vikings led 1-0 at intermission.

Burns came out with renewed intensity to open the second half, as the Lady Bulldogs took advantage of a defensive miscommunication to split the defense for a goal in the opening minutes, knotting the match at 1-1. At approximately the sixth minute mark, Avery again retook the lead at 2-1 as Melinda Eggers assisted on a goal inside the box by senior Katie Peters. With around 23 minutes remaining, Burns found a way to escape a scrambling Vikings back line to score the equalizer to tie the match 2-2.

The score remained unchanged through the remainder of regulation, and the teams made the decision to play two-10 minute overtime sessions. The squads remained scoreless through the first session. In the second ten minutes, Burns kept the ball in the Avery defensive half of the field for the overwhelming majority of the period, but the Vikings were stingy, turning away an indirect kick as well as a pair of corner kick opportunities to conclude the match in a tie.

“Burns has a couple of good girls up front and a good sweeper. We scored early, but the match did not play out as easily as perhaps we might have thought it might,” Coach Evaul stated. “We did a lot of standing around, and we need to work on being a little more aggressive and going to the ball a little more than we did in this match.”

This evening Avery traveled to Ledger to play a conference match at Mitchell. Through brutal cold and snowy conditions, the Lady Vikings took a 4-0 lead on the Lady Mountaineers into halftime. Avery continued pouring it on with six additional goals in the first 40 minutes of the second half for a commanding 10-0 win.

Emily Banner tallied a hat trick by midway through the second half for the Lady Vikings as Avery prepares for a home match on Wednesday and a match at North Wilkes on Thursday.

Avery Baseball Rescheduled

The baseball game between Avery and Hampton has been rescheduled for Wednesday at 4:30pm.

ETSU Lady Bucs Fall In NCAA Tournament

The ETSU women’s basketball team saw their outstanding season come to an end on Saturday night after giving Oklahoma State everything they could handle as the Cowgirls advanced to the second round of the NCAA Women’s tournament 85-73.

“There are really no words to describe how proud I am of this team,” Lady Buc coach Karen Kemp said. “They came out and played very hard. My biggest fear going into this game was that we would just be in awe of everything because we were in our first NCAA Tournament. We played really focused. We knew Oklahoma State was a good basketball team. I felt like we came out and gave it everything we had and played a good basketball game.”

The Lady Bucs and Cowgirls traded shots to open the contest as the Lady Bucs took an early 14-11 lead thanks to two Michelle DeVault 3-pointers. However, the Cowgirls went on a 20-7 run to take a 29-17 lead with 7:54 remaining in the half. DeVault hit another 3-pointer to close the gap to 31-22, but the Lady Bucs were unable to gain anymore on Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls took a 41-29 lead at the break.

The Lady Bucs, however, did not give up in the second half. ETSU responded to an Oklahoma State 3-pointer with a 6-0 run to open up the second half. However, the Cowgirls went on a 9-0 run to push their lead to 52-35. Siarre Evans and DeVault 3-pointers gave the Lady Bucs momentum as ETSU pulled within seven points with less than nine minutes remaining. However, the clock worked against the Lady Bucs as they could not get closer to the Cowgirls.

“Credit East Tennessee State, they outcoached and outplayed us tonight,” Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke. “I tried to stress that midmajors such as East Tennessee are very dangerous. ETSU believe in themselves and they believe they can play with anybody. They came out playing very relaxed.”

The Lady Bucs were led by DeVault’s 22 points as she tied a career-high six 3-pointers. Latisha Belcher scored 14 points, while Evans scored 12 points. TaRonda Wiles added 10 points for the Lady Bucs. Oklahoma State was led by All-American Andrea Riley’s 26 points and Maria Cordero added 23 points. The Cowgirls and Lady Bucs were nearly even in rebounding as the Cowgirls won the battle in the paint 46-45. The Lady Bucs also had 17 assists.

The Lady Bucs finished the season by winning 15 of its last 17 games. The team tied a Lady Buc record of 21 victories and captured the first NCAA berth in the program history.

Avery Soccer Match with Polk Postponed

This afternoon's home ladies soccer match with Polk County has been postponed to a later date due to weather.

From the Student Section...I'm Back!

Well, after a few weeks after disappering from the newspaper scene, I am back at it. Here are a few things going on in the world of sports:

• Don't forget to enter the Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog's Bracket challenge. Details are listed in yesterday's post.


• It's Tourney Time! The brackets are out, and the matchups are set. There are some really interesting things in this year's bracket. Of course, I want to offer my take on a few of the things that caught my eye.


• The Charlotte Region is probably one of the toughest regions in my opinion. North Carolina got a huge reward by not having to leave the state for their first four games. Tennessee, on the other hand, probably feels like they got a bad deal. Their loss to Arkansas (yes, the same Arkansas that saw Appalachian State beat them in Little Rock) cost them more then they imagined. Most brackets had the Vols as a one seed until that lost. The committee must have taken the Arkansas lost more seriously than expectedas they knocked UT from a one to a weak two seed. Add in Louisville, George Mason, Winthrop and Butler, this region will have some tough games. (However, I do not think that the Vols will suffer a first round defeat at the hand of American University.)


• Some of the lower seeded teams got an unexpected reward on Sunday. There a few lower teams who will play in their home state for the first two rounds. Davidson, a ten seed, faces off against seven seed Gonzaga in North Carolina. In another 7-10 matchup, Butler faces South Alabama in Birmingham. There are examples of that for games in the Sweet 16 that have the same issues if the teams win out. Take the South Region if both Memphis and Texas win out. They will play for the right to advance to the Final Four in Houston. Is it fair?


• Most intriguing games: USC-Kansas State and Drake and Western Kentucky. These two games have the potential to be upsets, but are they really? USC and K-State have the two super freshman, and Drake and WK are two of the top mid-majors this year.


• The past weekend, I was in Bristol enjoying the racing atmosphere. I am hoping to have something posted on my experience later on this week!


• Have a safe and Happy Easter!

Scoreboard Widget added

Keep your brackets updated to-the-second with our newest addition... the NCAA Tournament Scoreboard, from CBS.

The Avery Journal-Times "Mountain Challenge"

The Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog has started a group on ESPN.com for our first ever NCAA Bracket Challenge. All you have to do is open an ESPN.com account (it's free!) and then search for the public group "The Mountain Challenge". The group motto is "The official Group of the Avery Journal-Times." That may help you find it. The winner will get bragging rights and maybe their name and picture in the paper. Invite any and everyone that you want to,no matter where they are at. Good luck to all!

Big Red Women's Soccer Drops First Two Contests of Season at Watauga, Hendersonville

The Avery Lady Vikings tasted the bitterness of defeat for the first time this season on Saturday at Jack Groce Stadium in Boone, as Avery fell by a final score of 3-0.

The Pioneers (2-2, 1-1 NWC) took a 2-0 lead on Avery by halftime and added two goals 10 minutes into the second half in a steady rain. The game was stopped after thunder was heard in the area with about 10 minutes left in the game. Macy Johnson got the Pioneers started against with a goal in the first half. The Pioneers struck quickly in the second half with two goals from Ashlyn Baird and another by Lucy Binning. Both of Baird’s goals were scored off of corner kicks. Binning also had two assists, while Anna Lisa Hart had another.

Avery played shorthanded with only two subs to call upon in the match, but the girls played much improved soccer from the 9-0 shutout against the Lady Pioneers a season ago.

On Monday night, Avery was unable to return to its winning ways in a matchup of top-10 ranked 1A schools in Hendersonville, as the 5th ranked Lady Bearcats handed the 8th ranked Lady Vikings a 3-0 defeat. Avery returns to the pitch on Wednesday when it hosts the 4th ranked Polk Lady Wolverines.

Avery Journal-Times LIVE from... the Girls 1A State Basketball Championship

We're live and Courtside from the Smith Center in Chapel Hill for the 1A girls basketball championship betweeen Pender High School and Bishop McGuinness. We'll be keeping a running tally throughout this afternoon's contest.

12:05 pm - Tip-off. Bishop holds an 8-2 lead early in the first quarter. The Villains are the West Regional champs and are two-time defending state champs.

12:08 pm - Pender scores the last two buckets and trails 8-6 midway through the opening period.

12:15 pm - Pender went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 10 apiece, doing a good job crashing the boards, especially on the offensive end. Bishop's height, particularly Erin Thompson in the middle for the Villains, started making its presence felt late in the quarter. Great fan contingent for both schools, but Pender looks to have a few more fans. End first period... 16-14 Bishop McGuinness.

12:25 pm - Bishop opens the quarter on a 8-2 run to take a 24-16 lead with just under 5:00 left in the half. On a side note, members of both the UNC and Duke women's coaching staff are sitting about five feet behind me on press row carrying on an entertaining conversation.

12:30 pm - Bishop leads 27-17 with 2:26 left in the half. Using its height and press, Bishop has forced a number of Pender turnovers. Bishop has also gotten to the foul line on several occasions in the period

12:35 pm - at halftime its 30-22 Bishop McGuinness, as the teams traded 3's to end the half. On a side note, much thanks to John Rendleman formerly of MTN-TV and now of WWAY-TV in Wilmington for hooking a fella up with a seat on press row to blog from as the NCHSAA neglected to reserve a spot as they'd earlier promised.

HALFTIME STATS

SCORE BISHOP 30 PENDER 22

POINTS BISHOP: RONAN 12 PTs PENDER ROBINSON 12 REBOUNDS

BISHOP: THOMPSON 8

PENDER: SEABROOKS 6 BLAND 6

FG% BISHOP 34.5% PENDER 27.3%

TURNOVERS: BISHOP 6 PENDER 7

12:55 pm - Pender has come out on a run to open the third period, cutting the lead to 33-29 with 4 min. left in the third. Of note, Whitney Knight of Bishop has had at least 4 blocked shots in the game. She is a 6'1" freshman who runs the point and, if Avery folks watched their earlier game with Robbinsville, is very quick and lanky for her size.

12:58 pm - 34-31 Bishop leads by 3 and takes a timeout with 3:01 remaining in the third. Pender has taken momentum in the game and has made every shot difficult for the Villains in the quarter thus far.

1:05 pm -- Bishop gets a break on a call on a loose basketball when a foul is called on Pender. Patriots head coach Gary Battle gets a technical when he slaps the scorers table at disgust over the call. Bishop hits two free throws just prior to the end of the quarter. End 3rd quarter: Bishop 38, Pender 33. Of note: the three officials calling this title game are from WESTERN North Carolina's officiating association, all three of which Avery teams have seen this season.

1:15 pm - 5:41 remaining in the contest. Bishop leads 41-35. The intensity and physicality has picked up here in the final period and it's still anyone's game. Both teams are in a bit of foul trouble as Thompson has 3 fouls and Rembielak has 4 for Bishop, while Seabrooks has 4 for the Lady Patriots.

1:25 pm - Bishop on a 6-0 run has taken a double-digit lead at 47-35 lead with 3:42 to go, earning points at the charity stripe. Pender hs gone cold shooting in the quarter, but have gotten plenty of opportunities to score.

1:32 pm - Pender cuts the lead to 49-41 with a minute left to go. Pender is fouling to try to extend the ballgame.

1:40 pm - Bishop lead by 9 with 30 seconds left, and it appears they will win their third straight 1A state girls title.

1:50 pm - Bishop wins it 56-43. Maggie Ronan led the Lady Villains with 16 points. Erinn Thompson was named MVP after adding 14 points and 19 rebounds. For Pender, Janetta Robinson scored 18 points. Muriel Seabrooks grabbed 18 rebounds. Sequoya Bland scored 10 rebounds and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Avery Middle Takes First Round of Spring Sports Bragging Rights

Avery Middle School and Cranberry Middle School squared off on the diamond for baseball and softball matchups, with the Avery Panthers coming out on top in both contests.

In the softball matchup in Newland, the Lady Panthers pitching staff held the Lady Wildcats bats at bay en route to a win, while starting pitcher AJ Masters went the seven-inning distance in Cranberry, striking out nine hitters while giving up only three runs in a 13-3 victory.

"A.J. throws the ball really well. He has spots where most pitchers might falter, but he bounces back to throw strike after strike. I believe he is one of the league's best," Avery Panthers manager Donnie Johnson said after the win. "We were conservative on the bases on Monday, but I noticed we were more aggressive with our leads. We sent more guys home from third with the ball just getting into the infielders' hands, and the guys did a good job watching the ball come in and getting across. Our kids really gave all they had out there tonight."

Dustin Clark smacked a deep home run over the center field fence as part of a three-run second inning to give Avery the lead for good at 3-2.

Landon Powell pitched five innings for the Wildcats and threw well, giving up very few earned runs in the loss. "Landon pitched pretty well. I believe we just struggled fielding the ball tonight, not knowing where to go with the ball and making some errors and bad throws," Cranberry manager Kent Hayes remarked following the contest.

"Avery Middle put the ball in play, and we didn't do quite as good a job putting the ball in play."

On Monday the Panthers lost a pair of games to East Yancey by scores of 7-0 and 17-9, while Cranberry fell in two contests to Bowman by scores of 7-3 and 9-3 the same evening.

Avery Middle baseball hosts Bowman and Harris next week, while Cranberry travels to Cane River and East Yancey for conference contests.

Lady Vikings Hand Loss to West Wilkes to Remain Perfect

Avery improved its unblemished record to 4-0 on Wednesday evening with a 3-1 victory over the #9 ranked West Wilkes Lady Blackhawks in Millers Creek.

Avery scored each of its goals in the first half of play. The first tally of the evening came on a goal from Katie Peters in the 12th minute coming off an Elyse Perry assist. A second goal came five minutes later courtesy of Mary Chesnut Smith with help from Emily Banner and Melinda Eggers. Following a change in net for West, Peters netted a second goal at the 27-minute mark off an Emily Banner assist, giving Avery a commanding 3-0 halftime lead.

In the second half the Lady Vikings were not able to connect again offensively, but Avery keeper Cailan Calloway had several saves in net. West managed a penalty kick opportunity when a handball was called in the box, but the shot hit the crossbar and rebounded, eventually being cleared by the Big Red.

The Lady Vikings were able to see the entire roster garner minutes on the pitch, particularly in the second half. West scored its only goal of the night at the 70 minute mark to account for the 3-1 final. The match was a physical contest as one Avery player received a yellow card following inadvertent contact with a West player going for a ball, while in a separate incident a Lady Hawks keeper was injured and received medical care.

"Our offense looked really good tonight," Lady Vikings head coach Tom Evaul said after the win. "Our defense was a little off, giving us some scares including the missed PK."

With the win Avery will likely improve on its current #15 ranking. The Lady Vikings travel to Watauga for a match against the neighboring Lady Pioneers on Saturday.

Gragg to Participate in Blue/White All-Star Game

Avery Lady Vikings basketball senior forward Kimberley Gragg has been selected to play in the annual Blue/White Classic. Gragg averaged 12 points and and 9 rebounds a contest this season in helping to lead the Lady Vikings to its first 1A Western Regional in program history.

Gragg is the fourth Lady Viking player to participate in the game over the past three seasons. Former Avery standout Charity Austin was MVP of the 2006 contest, while teammates Kimberly Pitman and Brittney Burleson played in last year's game.

The games are set for Thursday, March 20 at T.C. Roberson High in Skyland. The girls' game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be followed by the boys' game at 9. Below are the full rosters for all four teams for the two contests:

Boys Blue: Chris Vanlandingham (North Henderson), D.J. Clement (Reynolds), Petey Hausley (McDowell), Terrance Kincaid (McDowell), Cole Huskins (Mountain Heritage), Josh Twitty (Polk County), Ian McVay (Owen), Josh Harris (Chase), Brandon Young (R-S Central), Patrick Crouch (Roberson), coach Ken Hines (Chase).

White: Ben Williams (Enka), Jon Brown (Smoky Mountain), C.J. Fortner (Smoky Mountain), Koty Drake (Franklin), Dominique Whiteside (Hendersonville), Caleb Hedden (Erwin), Travis Garrison (Robbinsville), Austin Moore (Pisgah), Zach Hollifield (Pisgah), Jarrod Conard (Pisgah), coach Brian Carver (Enka).

Girls Blue: Kelsea Greene (McDowell), Kurie Washington (McDowell), Morgan McMinn (North Henderson), Stephanie Chapman (Roberson), Gentry Manley (Roberson), Ebonique Hamilton (McDowell), Kim Gragg (Avery County), Samantha Blevins (Mitchell), Latwyella Maxwell (East Rutherford), Areyshea Dunbar (Roberson), coach Larry Ross (East Rutherford).

White: Brandy Deddo (Robbinsville), Emily Raper (Hiwassee Dam), Kristen Cook (Swain County), Rachel Olivo (Enka), Shermia Forney (Asheville), Jena Cabe (Franklin), Evan Moffitt (Franklin), Stephanie Nichols (Blue Ridge), Cayla Cucumber (Smoky Mountain), Brittney Clark (Pisgah), coach Jay Brooks (Franklin).

Tough Night on Diamond for Vikings; Soccer Time Change

The Avery baseball and softball teams played their respective conference openers yesterday evening at Owen High School.

In softball, the Lady Vikings held the talented Owen club scoreless through two innings before the Warlassie bats woke up with a pair of runs in the third and a four-spot in the fourth on the way to a 12-0 victory.

Owen pitcher Allie Brandon struck out nine Vikings and allowed only one hit to give the Warlassies the victory.
Brandon is 3-0 on the year for Owen. Morgan Yackey started the contest for the Big Red on the mound and also pitched in at the plate with a triple.

In baseball, the Avery junior varsity team, in what amounted to basically its second practice of the season which happened to be a regular-season game, was defeated 11-0. Jared Clark and Daniel Huff took the mound in the contest and Avery was able to see live pitching at the plate and get field work that has been scarce through a wet and white winter.

In the varsity contest, Avery's conference opener was an improvement from its 15-0 whitewash against Wilkes Central a week earlier, losing only by a 7-1 final score. Catcher Zac Hall had a single and a double at the plate for two of Avery's four hits in the contest, and scored Avery's lone run on an Owen wild pitch in the top of the fifth. Senior Seth Phillips pitched five innings on the mound, with Chris Childress pitching one inning of relief.

Owen used a four-run fourth inning to put away the game. Warhorse hurler Lewis Fraser (2-1) struck out 12 Vikings and went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Michael Harvin drove in a pair of Owen runs.

Avery had five different runners on base through three innings, but squandered the opportunities as none of the runners crossed the plate. Defense was much improved from the opening contest, as Avery was able to wriggle out of trouble in multiple innings with solid infield play. The Vikings will travel to Hampton on Friday for a non-conference contest against the Bulldogs.

The Avery track and field team was also in action on Tuesday at Owen High School. A number of athletes took part in various running, jumping, and throwing events, and the team will be traveling across the region all spring long in preparation for the season-ending conference, regional, and state meets.

NOTE: The Avery girls soccer team's game this afternoon against #9 ranked West Wilkes WILL BEGIN AT 5:30 p.m., rather than the original 6 pm start time. Avery will be looking to improve to 4-0 with a victory in Miller's Creek.