NEWPORT-The Newport Lunachix are headed to the USSSA World Series for eight-and-under coach pitch softball this weekend in Knoxville. The Lunachix qualified for the World Series by placing in the trophy round at the Tennessee State Tournament on July 9-10 in Franklin.

The Lunachix were up against the best-of-the-best at the USSSA sanctioned tournament in Franklin, and were the only team representing East Tennessee. The majority of squads at the State Tournament were from the Middle and West Tennessee areas.

The Lunachix had been practicing hard in the two weeks leading up to the State Tournament knowing full well that they would have to play their best ball to have a chance at taking the title.

During the opening ceremonies, held the night before the tournament began, the Lunachix had the honor of walking out on the field with the Tennessee Diamonds professional softball team. They also had a chance to meet former college All-American and Olympian Cat Osterman.

The Lunachix first opponent in the Tournament was the NDesigns, a squad out of Fayetteville. The Lunachix were on their game, and blanked NDesigns 8-0.

Lunachix coaches felt game two of the tournament against the Lawrenceburg Lightning, was, perhaps, the most important game they would play. A victory in game two would give the Lunachix a strong chance of finishing no worse than second place in the Tournament. The way the brackets were set up, the top three teams were aligned in the same bracket.

The Chix offense was strong as their bats were popping, just as they had been during practices the previous two weeks, simply with a focus on the fundamentals of hitting. But, there were problems in the field. The Chix were making uncharacteristic errors, which proved to be costly, as they gave up eight runs on five errors in the game. Twice the Chix had two outs and no runs scored only to make simple errors that ended up giving the Lightning 10 runs. In the end, the Chix fell to the Lightning 14-7. But, they were still alive.

Their backs were to the wall as the Lunachix had to fight their way out of the loser's bracket, and their opponent would be the Mt. Juliet Lady Bears. The Lunachix were still hot at the plate, but their fielding was still inconsistent. The Chix led 11-6 going into the top of the final inning and the Lady bears coming to the plate. The Lady Bears were up to the task, and tied the game at 11-11. The Chix, however, had the final at bat, and their hot hitting continued as they easily knocked in the winning run to stay alive.

Next up were back-to-back games against the best in the state, the Shelbyville Sliders. In the first game, the Chix jumped out to an early 3-0 advantage while the defense started showing signs of life by holding Shelbyville scoreless through three innings. Leading 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth, the Chix defense fell apart, however, and Shelbyville stormed back to a 5-4 lead, which eventually ended up being the final score. The Chix fell in the second game as well as their defensive woes continued. It's difficult enough to beat the best in the state while you are beating yourself with errors. The Chix committed seven errors that led to 11 total runs in the two games.

The losses were tough to take as the Lunachix coaches felt their team was the team to beat in the tournament. Even still, the Lunachix brought home a fourth-place finish, which gave them a berth in the World Series.

The Lunachix are looking forward to representing Newport and Cocke County in the World Series, which started Wednesday and runs through this Sunday in Knoxville. And, the squad has been practicing hard to clean up their defense. They feel confident that by playing solid ball both offensively and defensively, and by putting together a couple of complete games, they may just have enough to bring home some hardware. Just playing in the tournament, however, is a once-in-a-lifetime event for most of these young girls.