Softball Game Preview: Jefferson County Patriots vs. Sevier County Smoky Bears

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Previous Games

03/10/25 - Home	5-4 W
04/18/24 - Home	7-0 W
03/21/24 - Away	8-4 W
05/09/23 - Neutral	13-3 W
04/20/23 - Away	14-3 W
+ 5 more games

Jefferson County is a perfect 10-0 against Sevier County since March of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Thursday. The Patriots will venture away from home to face off against the Smoky Bears at 5:30 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Jefferson County was handed a ten-run loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the squad sidled past Claiborne 2-0. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Patriots have posted since March 28th.

Not much got past Kaycee Morgan, who gave up just two hits to keep Claiborne off the board.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Sevier County). They were the clear victors by a 17-2 margin over Gatlinburg-Pittman on Tuesday. The Smoky Bears haven't had any issues with the Highlanders recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive win against them.

Jade Hubbard was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She pitched six innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 3-for-5. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in doubles (two).

In other batting news, Emma McClure and McKenzie Turner did most of the damage at the plate: McClure got on base in four of her five plate appearances with four RBI and one double, while Turner got on base in three of her four plate appearances with one home run and three runs. Those three runs gave Turner a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ashley Morgan, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-5.

Sevier County was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .382. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Gatlinburg-Pittman only posted a batting average of .208.

Jefferson County's record is now 10-13-1. As for Sevier County, their record now sits at 5-11.

Jefferson County skirted past Sevier County 5-4 in their previous meeting back in March. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Patriots since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.