Softball Game Preview: Unicoi County Blue Devils vs. Cocke County Fighting Cocks

The Unicoi County Blue Devils will take on the Cocke County Fighting Cocks at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The last four games Unicoi County has played have been within two runs, so don't be surprised if it's a close one.

Unicoi County is returning to their home field after beating David Crockett on theirs, despite the fact David Crockett has dominated at home this season. The Blue Devils came out on top in a nail-biter against the Pioneers on Wednesday, sneaking past 2-1. That's two games straight that the Blue Devils have won by just one run.

Lela Byrd

Batters Struck Out

05/14/25 @ David Crockett	8
05/12/25 @ Volunteer	10
05/02/25 vs Elizabethton	15
04/28/25 @ Dobyns-Bennett	11
04/21/25 vs West Ridge	14
+ 3 more games

Lela Byrd spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on five hits and racked up eight Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in eight consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Kianna Woodward, who went 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Aaliyah Engle, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one double.

Meanwhile, Cocke County unfortunately witnessed the end of their six-game winning streak on Wednesday. They took a 4-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Gibbs. The shutout was out of character for the Fighting Cocks seeing as the last time the team failed to score was back in March.

Unicoi County has been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs on average over those games. As for Cocke County, their loss dropped their record down to 29-5-1.

Everything went Unicoi County's way against Cocke County in their previous meeting back in March, as Unicoi County made off with a 6-0 win. Will the Blue Devils repeat their success, or do the Fighting Cocks have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.