ELIZABETHTON -- This year's District 1-A softball championship was decided the way a championship should be, with the game-winning RBI hit in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Unfortunately for North Greene, it was Unaka that batted last and claimed the crown 1-0 in the second and deciding game of the championship round.

The Lady Huskies forced a second game in grand fashion, pounding the top-seeded Lady Rangers and waiving off elimination with a 12-6 victory.

Constant rain, cooling temperatures, mud and standing water on the field made runs a premium in the deciding game. Neither side ever got a clear advantage over the other until the Lady Rangers laced together four consecutive singles in the bottom of the seventh to win it.

North Greene coach Beverly Fletcher said the loss was heartbreaking, but she couldn't be more proud of the way the Lady Huskies gave themselves a shot at the title.

"I'm very proud, very pleased," Fletcher said. "I think these are the best two games we've played all year -- offensively and defensively. I think we played really well. I have no complaints; none. They did a super job."

In the first game, the Lady Huskies pounded out 14 hits on their way to the 12-6 victory.

Tosha Hall led the way, going three-for-four with a double, five RBIs and two runs scored.

Samantha Weems, Lindsey Darnell and Amy Vallie each had a double. Brittany McGhee had a triple.

Jessie Adams got things started for North Greene in the top of the first with a two-run base hit that helped give the Lady Huskies a 3-0 lead from the outset. Hall drove in a pair of runs with a base hit in the second to make it 5-0.

Unaka made things interesting with two in the second and one in the third.

Weems led off the fourth with a double to left and scored on Hall's RBI double, but Unaka responded with two in the bottom of the same inning to make it a 6-5 game.

North Greene blew the game open with six runs in the seventh. Hall drove in a pair of runs in the rally, and McGhee put two across with her triple.

Unaka got one run back in the bottom of the seventh, but it was the run the Lady Rangers scored in the bottom of the seventh in game two that broke North Greene's heart.

Because of the steadily worsening weather conditions and the field becoming a quagmire, neither the Lady Huskies nor the Lady Rangers ever got an advantage.

North Greene got runners in scoring position in the second inning when Katie Harrison and Adams reached on a pair of singles, and Payne was left stranded on third following a double in the seventh.

Unaka knocked on the door a couple of times. A good throw out of right field by Payne to third base gunned a runner down in the fourth, and some solid infield work by Vallie at second ended the sixth before a run scored.

The Lady Rangers scored the only run they needed in their last at-bat, lacing together a string of singles that ended when Kayla Winters drove one up the middle to score the championship-winning run.

The loss doesn't mean the Lady Huskies' season is over. It just means they have to play on the road Monday (6 p.m.) in the opening round of the region tournament to play District 2 champion Jellico. Unaka will host their region semifinal game against Cosby.

If both the Lady Huskies and Lady Rangers win, North Greene will go back to Unaka to play for the region title.

Fletcher said that's their goal.

"If we can continue to play like this, hopefully we will get a chance to come back up here and play Unaka again next week," Fletcher said.