JASPER, Tenn. - There was never any panic, but there was certainly plenty of emotion as Marion County's softball team came to bat in the fifth inning Monday.
The favored Lady Warriors had allowed four runs in the top of the inning to Arts & Sciences to suddenly find themselves trailing by three runs.
But the veteran team, led by five senior starters, simply went to work at the plate to quickly erase the deficit. The Lady Warriors reclaimed the lead with five runs in their half of the fifth, then added three more in the sixth on their way to a 10-5 victory over the Lady Patriots in a Region 3-A semifinal.
"I think a good bit of it was overconfidence," Marion County coach Randy Ellis said. "We took an early lead and I think were just kind of flat after that for a while.
"But before I could even get to them to say anything, (senior) Harlie Jordan was already telling them that we were not losing this game. That's what having great veteran leadership can do, and I really didn't have to add much after that."
Freshman Savannah Thomas highlighted the fifth-inning rally with a three-run double, one of two for her in the game. That go-ahead hit came with one out and Marion trailing 5-4.
Jordan also backed up her pep talk by going 3-for-4 with three runs, and Haley Baker was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
"It was scary for a few minutes honestly, because you could see CSAS getting more and more confident as that inning went," Ellis said. "But I've got confidence in this group. We've had a lot of late rallies, so they know how to handle pressure."
The Lady Warriors (33-6) travel to Silverdale Baptist for Wednesday's region championship game. Those teams split their regular-season series.
Region 2-A
* Meigs County 10, Oneida 0: At Decatur, Tenn., Ashley Rogers pitched a no-hitter, striking out 15, and added two hits in a region semifinal victory. Kaylee Meadows went 2-for-2 with two RBIs in the win for the Lady Tigers (33-3), who will host Midway at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the region championship game.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.