ELIZABETHTON -- A softball game lasts seven innings, but the eventual outcome of Tuesday night's District 1-A winner's bracket final between North Greene and Unaka was set in the first two.

The Lady Huskies had the bases loaded in the top of the first with no outs but didn't get a run to show for it. Unaka sparked for a six-run second and then cruised comfortably to a 10-5 victory that assures the tournament host Lady Rangers of making next week's region tournament.

"That set the whole tone of the ball game," said Lady Huskies coach Beverly Fletcher. "If we could have scored any of those three runs, I think it would have been a little different story."

North Greene still has a shot at making it to the region, but the Lady Huskies have to fight their way back against University High today at 5 p.m.

Fletcher is clear on what the Lady Huskies must do to keep their season alive.

"We have to start hitting the ball," said Fletcher, whose squad already beat UH by 10 runs on Monday. "We hit the ball real well against University High (on Monday). We hit pretty well tonight, but we had too many errors. We have to cut down the errors. If we do that, we'll be OK."

The Lady Huskies got the bat on the ball against Unaka. Samantha Weems led the way, going three-for-four at the plate with a double and two RBIs.

Weems' double led off the game, and she was one of the three runners left stranded after the Lady Huskies loaded the bases.

Unaka scored one in the bottom of the first, then blew the game wide open with six runs in the second. Hannah Colbaugh did the most damage for the Lady Rangers with a two-out, three-run double that made the score 7-0.

Weems got the Lady Huskies on the board in the fourth. North Greene rallied with two away when Misty Payne and Bobbie Cobb recorded back-to-back hits, then Weems ripped a hard shot into right for a two-RBI base hit. Weems scored herself all the way from first on an error by Unaka's outfield to give the Lady Huskies hope at 7-3.

Jamie Andrews hit a triple for Unaka in the fifth to kick off a two-run frame for the Lady Rangers. Another triple in the sixth, this time from Kayla Winters, resulted in another run for Unaka.

North Greene sparked for another two-out, two-run rally in the top of the seventh when Payne drove in a pair with a well-hit blast to right that made it 10-5, but they Lady Huskies couldn't keep the spark alive.