JASPER, Tenn. -- The jinx played out to near perfection.
Less than a minute after a Marion County supporter mentioned that Harlie Jordan had a no-hitter going, Sale Creek's McKenna Morgan crushed a double to end the no-hit bid for the Lady Warriors' undefeated pitcher.
The offending party stated that he would apologize to Jordan, who allowed no runs and two hits and had the full support of the Marion offense in a 10-0 victory over the Lady Panthers in the District 6-A softball tournament championship game.
"We were really relaxed but knew that we couldn't be overconfident," said Jordan, who improved to 9-0 for the season in the circle and went 2-for-3 at the plate.
"Having runs on the board early helped a lot," she said. "It takes pressure off pitching knowing the offense has your back."
The Lady Warriors (22-7) will host a Region 3-A semifinal against Grace Academy on Monday at 5 CDT. Sale Creek (17-13) will play at Silverdale Baptist Academy in a game scheduled for 5:30.
"These kids were never going to be denied this year," Marion County coach Tom Long said. "They had a lot to overcome -- a new coaching staff, a player getting seriously injured in a car crash and other things -- and it bonded them together.
"They may pick on each other, but nobody else had better try it."
The Lady Warriors scored in all but one of the six innings, the game ended by the mercy rule when Kelsey Barnett hit a run-scoring double with no outs in the sixth.
"We played every day this week, and I think we ran out of gas," Sale creek coach Clifford Kirk said. "We didn't have it today."
The Lady Warriors scored six runs before Jordan allowed a hit in Thursday's game at Marion County. Erica O'Kane hit an RBI double in the first inning. Kelsey Barnett opened the second with a home run over the center-field fence.
O'Kane opened the third inning with a homer to left. Taylor Roberts, Haley Baker and Makayla Dalton also scored in the four-run inning that included two errors by Sale Creek and RBIs from O'Kane, Taylor Roberts and Dalton.
"It really helps when other people around you are hitting well," O'Kane said. "We are peaking at the exact right time."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.