NEWPORT— Insidethe- park home runs are seldom seen anymore, especially in the smaller parks where softball is played.

But Cocke County turned that special trick twice in the same inning and is headed to the state tournament as a reward.

Both Chloe Niethammer and C.G. McNealy both raced all the way around the bases to highlight a five-run second inning for the Lady Red Friday afternoon and that was all winning pitcher Hailee Hartsell needed as Cocke County ripped Elizabethton, 9-1, in the 3A Sectional.

It was the school record 35th win of the season for Coach Danny Hartsell’s team, which has lost seven times, and gave them their first state tournament berth in history.

Hartsell had her shutout streak broken after 22-plus innings but was in control from the start in notching the mound verdict over Lacie Cobble who gave up all of Cocke County’s runs on 11 hits in her five innings on the mound. Ava Hanson pitched the final two innings for the Lady Cyclones.

Ellie Proffitt continued her torrid hitting pace as she collected three safeties with McNealy and Niethammer adding two hits each for the Lady Red.

Hartsell upped her record to 16-1 as she allowed only four hits and didn’t walk a batter while striking out eight.

The Lady Red will play on Tuesday in Murfreesboro with the opponent to be announced after the completion of the remaining sectional games.

Elizabethton closed its season with a 23-15 worksheet.

Coach Hartsell was a happy man after the victory. “I’m so proud of this team. They’ve worked so hard to get to this point. It’s my sixth season and we have improved every year and this is a great reward for these girls who have put our softball program on the map.

“My four seniors have been through a lot, and I couldn’t be any happier for them. They’ve been great leaders and set an example for the young players. We’ve got two freshmen and two sophomores starting and 13 total players. Every one of them has done their part.

“I also want to thank our fans. We have gotten phenomenal support from our community as we’ve built our program here, and they have also been a big part of it.”

Hartsell went on to say, “We did a good job today. Hailee threw another great game and we didn’t make any errors. We kept putting pressure on them by hitting the ball hard and took advantage of a couple of mistakes when they were trying to make a great play.

“After that second inning, I felt we were in great shape with the way Hailee’s been pitching. She’s my daughter, and I know I’m tough on her sometimes but I don’t think there’s any question of how good she’s been since the tournament started and all season. She and Ellie have both thrown great.”

It was Hailee’s fifth win since tournament play began and the first earned run she has given up in 24.7 innings. In that span, she has walked only one batter and struck out 27.

Niethammer supplied the first run. With one out in the second, she smacked a long fly ball to deep right-center field. The center fielder got a glove on the ball after a long run but it popped out, and Niethammer circled the bases.

But the Lady Red wasn’t done. Cobble got a strikeout for the second out but Jaylee Lane and Jansyn Ensley had hits to bring McNealy to the plate.

McNealy smacked a line drive to left and the outfielder tried to make a diving catch but couldn’t come up with the softball. The ball went all the way into the left field corner and all three runners scored for a 4-0 lead.

Grooms then banged a triple down the right field line and Proffitt’s bloop just out of the second baseman’s reach scored the fifth win of the frame.

Cocke County added one in the third when Hartsell was hit by a pitch to lead off. Bentley Morris’ sacrifice bunt went for a single and the run scored on a sacrifice fly by Lane.

Hits by Proffitt and Niethammer and two Lady Cyclones errors produced three more markers in the fourth as the margin grew to 9-0.

Hartsell allowed only two baserunners in the first five innings and one of those was on a strikeout. She had set down 11 straight when Katie Gryder singled and scored on a hit by Sadie Williams who is a travel-ball teammate of Hartsell.

In the final inning, Hartsell fanned the first two batters and then got the final out on a grounder to second. That’s when the celebration began.