ETSU commitment Alli Farr has Powell in Class AAA softball championship game

MURFREESBORO — Alli Farr relishes the power of having the ball in her hand.

You need a good pitcher to get to the TSSAA State Softball Championships, but once you get there she's even more important to advancing.

Teams ride their aces through the tournament. If they can stay in the winners bracket, that's a game a day. But it could mean one pitcher throwing multiple games a day.

Farr is that pitcher for Powell.

"It pumps me up," the junior said after Powell earned a berth in the Class AAA championship with a 3-2 win over Ooltewah. "I know they're going to make those plays. They got my back and I got theirs."

Farr has been the pitcher for two years, and she was one of two her freshman year. She's not just used to the pressure, she likes it.

Coach Jeff Inman isn't convinced there's a better pitcher in East Tennessee. Farr, an ETSU commitment, had 180 strike outs over 168 innings coming into the tournament. She's maintained that pace through the tournament.

He said Farr is a lot of the reason they have over 40 wins on the season.

"She's been consistent all year," he said. "She can compete; she works really hard. She has great command of a lot of pitches and she doesn't walk many."

Doesn't walk many is an understatement, Farr averages fewer than two walks per seven innings pitched.

The trick, for any softball team, is to manage the arm to get you to this point but keep it fresh enough to get you through the tournament.

"You try not to overuse her through the season," Inman said. "The last few weeks of the season, we tried to condition her to where she was throwing a little more than usual."

Farr feels good. She's pitching well and feeling the momentum. All of Powell is feeling good.

They started and finished Thursday's game with sing-alongs. They might not be destined for the stage, but Inman likes to see that levity.

With the speaker in the air, Farr and the Panthers left Starplex for the night, ready to come back and get the title they were denied last year when former Class AAA foe Gibbs beat them.