WHITWELL, Tenn. - While it was still early, frayed nerves were beginning to creep into the Whitwell softball dugout.
Trailing Arts & Sciences 2-0 going to the home half of the third inning of their Region 3-A semifinal, and knowing a loss would end what has so far been a memorable season, the Lady Tigers needed a spark.
After the top of the order - Layla McEwen and Maddie Jordan - led off with singles, sophomore Anna Yell provided the needed wake-up call by blasting a three-run home run high over the left-center-field fence. The Lady Tigers added three more runs in the inning and won 7-4 to advance to the region title game, where they will host Silverdale Baptist on Wednesday.
"The home run told me things would be OK," said Whitwell coach Rebecca Castle. "Until then I was getting worried. We didn't have a lot of excitement about us before the game, but big hits like that are contagious, and once we get going our offense can be explosive."
Caitlyn Rollins added a two-run double in the third and had an RBI hit in the fifth to help give Whitwell (20-9) some needed cushion. Yell scattered four hits, allowing just one after the first two innings, and struck out six in the win.
Five Whitwell batters had two hits each: Rollins, Sydney Perkins, Camryn Haag, Raylon Smith and Maddie Jordan.
"We have a lot of confidence in our offense, so we believed we would score runs," Rollins said. "We were kind of flat before the game, but that home run really got us going. That was the turning point for sure."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis