NEWPORT— Thanks to the dominant pitching of Hailee Hartsell and the booming bat of Ellie Proffitt, Cocke County has its first region softball championship in school history.

Hartsell tossed a two-hitter, and Proffitt knocked in both runs as the Lady Red blanked two-time defending and 12-time overall state champ Knox Gibbs, 2-0, on Wednesday to win the Region Two 3A title.

Surviving a pair of rain delays in the sixth inning, the Lady Red improved to 34-7 for the season and will play host to Elizabethton Friday in the sectional with a state tournament berth on the line. Gibbs is still alive and will travel to Region One champion David Crockett in the sectional.

Meredith Grooms walked with one out in the bottom of the first and scored when Proffitt tripled over the left fielder’s head for the only run Hartsell needed. Grooms tripled to start the Cocke County sixth and scored the other run on a hit by Proffitt.

Hartsell extended her scoreless streak over 17 innings and has been practically untouchable since tournament play began, winning four times and giving up just one unearned run in the first inning of the district tournament.

On Wednesday, she kept Gibbs under control all the way. She gave up a bunt single in the fifth and another hit with one out in the seventh. She had perfect control, not walking a batter and striking out five.

Her numbers for the season are amazing in compiling a 15-1 record. She has pitched 104.7 innings and given up just 66 hits and a total of 11 earned runs. Hartsell has recorded 120 strikeouts and has an ERA of 0.73.

Coach Danny Hartsell, father of the pitcher commented, “I sometimes don’t give my daughter enough credit, but she has been pitching fantastic. To come out here today and shut out a team like Gibbs is quite an accomplishment.

“And Ellie did what she’s been doing and that’s knocking the cover off the ball,” he added. “This was a great team effort. We had a couple of errors in the second inning but we made all the plays after that and I can’t give these girls enough credit. I’m just very proud of every one of them.”

Hartsell said he talked to his team early about what they could get done this year. “I told them if we go out and play like I know we’re capable of playing, people will know what it means to play the team with Cocke County on the front of that jersey. And they’ve done that.”

When asked if this was his biggest victory, he responded like you’d expect a coach to do, saying, “Well I hope that comes on Friday night when we play in the sectional.”

The game was halted for a brief rain delay in the top of the sixth and stopped again as the rain really picked up just after Proffitt knocked in Cocke County’s second run.

After a lot of work on the field, the Lady Red went out and closed out the victory.

In the bottom of the first, losing pitcher Miah German walked Grooms with one out and Proffitt followed with a triple to open the scoring. German, who gave up only four hits, walked two and struck out two, got a strikeout and a fly ball to center to keep another run from scoring.

Hartsell had the only other hit for Cocke County.

However, the Lady Eagles, now 31-16-2, couldn’t get much done at the plate. Their best chance to score came in the third when a pair of errors put two runners on base. But Hartsell got a fielder’s choice ground ball and a fly ball to right to end the threat.

Victoria Grubbs struck out on a wild pitch and reached base in the third and Callie Rice put down a perfect bunt for the first hit in the fifth.

The Lady Eagles went down in order in the sixth and had their only clean base hit with one out in the seventh when Katie Keck singled to left.

Keck moved to second on a groundout for the second out and Hartsell ended it in fashion with a strikeout.