Whitwell Lady Tigers earn third straight district tournament title

Whitwell's Anna Yell, shown in a game last week at Soddy-Daisy, pitched a five-inning shutout in the District 5-A tournament final Tuesday night.
Whitwell's Anna Yell, shown in a game last week at Soddy-Daisy, pitched a five-inning shutout in the District 5-A tournament final Tuesday night.
photo Whitwell's Anna Yell, shown in a game last week at Soddy-Daisy, pitched a five-inning shutout in the District 5-A tournament final Tuesday night.

WHITWELL, Tenn. - Two outs, no worries. Whitwell's softball team struck for a pair of runs in each of the first two innings, both times with two outs, to take command early and cruise past South Pittsburg 10-0 in five innings for the District 5-A championship Tuesday night.

The Lady Tigers (23-9) got on the board in the home half of the first with an RBI double by Caitlin Rollins, followed by a single by Carley Terry that plated a run. They doubled the margin in the second on Layla McEwen's two-run double. That was more than enough support for senior ace Anna Yell, the three-time district player of the year who allowed just two hits as Whitwell claimed its third straight district title.

McEwen's double was lined off the top of the left-center-field fence, missing a home run by inches. But in the fifth, Delanie Merciers didn't miss. She drilled her second home run of the season, a two-run shot, in what became a four-run inning that ended the game.

"I didn't know it had cleared the fence until I was rounding first and heard everybody cheering," said Merciers, who went 2-for-3. "I've been staying back more this year, and that's helped me hit the ball harder.

"We've beaten some good teams this year, and that's helped our confidence."

The Lady Tigers will host Monday's Region 3 semifinal matchup against either Gordonsville or Trousdale County, and they are now just two wins from going to the state tournament for a third consecutive season.

Despite her team collecting 12 hits, including four that went for extra bases, Lady Tigers coach Rebecca Castle wasn't satisfied.

"We have to be more selective and more patient at the plate," said Castle, whose team was coming off a six-day layoff. "That shouldn't be as hard as we make it sometimes, and tonight we were pretty hot and cold at the plate. If we'll just look for good pitches to drive, we have some good hitters who can get us going."

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.

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