Baseball Game Preview: Unaka Rangers vs. Greenback Cherokees

The Unaka Rangers will square off against the Greenback Cherokees at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Unaka has struggled recently with ten defeats in a row, while Greenback will arrive with three straight victories.

Unaka lost 12-2 to Sullivan East on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Greenback won against Oakdale on Tuesday with ten runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Friday. The Cherokees never let Polk County get on the board and left with a 10-0 win. Considering the Cherokees have won seven contests by more than eight runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

The result came thanks to Kolden Williams's shutout, as he gave up just three hits and racked up 11 Ks. Greenback is undefeated when Williams posts ten or more strikeouts, but 6-11 otherwise.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Lucas Clifford, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one stolen base. He is becoming a predictor of Greenback's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 5-2 (and 5-9 when he doesn't). Jaxson Smith was another key player, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with one stolen base and two RBI.

Greenback always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .556. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Polk County only posted an OBP of .136.

Unaka's loss dropped their record down to 5-13. As for Greenback, their victory bumped their record up to 10-11.

Unaka suffered a grim 19-3 defeat to Greenback in their previous matchup back in March of 2025. Will the Rangers have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.