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For the second straight day, Daniel Boone used a huge late-inning explosion for a victory.

The Lady Blazers trailed Morristown West, 7-6, entering the top of the sixth inning but poured across six runs for a 12-7 triumph and their third straight Region One 4-A Tournament championship.

Boone gets to host today’s sectional battle with Heritage while the Lady Trojans will journey to Region Two champion Farragut for a 6 p.m. game. Both of today’s winners qualify for the state tournament.

The Lady Trojans battled from behind twice and took their final lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning before Boone strung together five hits in its game-winning rally.

In its opening region game on Wednesday, Boone scored all seven of its runs in the fifth inning.

The winners are now 30-7-2 for the season while the Lady Trojans will take a 22-11 record to Farragut.

In the sixth, the visitors loaded the bases on singles by Lily Walters and pinch-hitter Sadie Henson and a bunt hit by leadoff batter Riley Croley.

Audrey Moorhouse was hit by a pitch to force in the tying run before Kaleigh Quisenberry doubled in two more for a 9-7 lead. Maci Masters was walked intentionally to load the bases and Kyleigh Bacon knocked across two more runs. The final run of the inning scored on a sacrifice fly by Anna Richardson.

West had a runner in the sixth without scoring and then with two out in the seventh, Jaelyn McDaniel and Kaylee Dyke had hits and Aubrie Messer walked to load the bases.

However, a pitch bounced away from the catcher and the runner on third tried to score but was out at the plate to end the game.

Sophomore Ava Saul was the winning hurler in relief of freshman Kaylea Osborne. Briony Bunsic went the distance for the Lady Trojans.

Quisenberry had a double and two singles for the winners while Saul added a double and single and Bacon and Croley two singles apiece.

Boone coach Jeremy Jenkins said, “We got off to a good start but they came back and went ahead. But our kids had some really good at bats.

“I thought Quisenberry had a great night at the plate and Maci and Kyleigh Bacon had some big hits to knock in some runs,” Jenkins added. “All the way down the lineup we had kids do some really good things at the plate whether it was draw a walk or move a runner.

“Kaylea has been out of commission with an ankle injury for over two weeks and I started her because I wanted to get her some work because you don’t know how many pitchers you’ll need the rest of the way,” said the coach. “She gave us four innings and then Ava came in there and did a good job of filling up the strike zone as well.”

He added, “All of our girls have pitched in pressure situations and they seem to thrive on that. The name of the game is pitching and defense. We may have mishandled a couple tonight but we made plays when we had to.”

Jenkins said, “Our kids just kept battling back. There’s just no quit in this bunch here. Everybody does their part and we’re hoping to go out there tomorrow and get another one.

“Hats off to West. They’re a good quality team. They’re very athletic and are going to put the ball in play. They have a good pitcher and we did a good job of hitting off her.”

West’s Heather Kelley said, “Daniel Boone has a very good program. They’ve been to the state twice in the last four years and we’re just scratching the surface.

“I’m super proud of my kids. We battled back to take the lead and then they had the big inning and we couldn’t come back again.”

Kelley said, “There was a real chance for our kids to get down when we got down 3-0 in the first inning. But the girls didn’t do that. They came back.”

The coach said, “We have to go down there tomorrow and turn things back around against another good softball team.”

Bunsic did her best to keep the Lady Trojans in the game. After throwing over 140 pitches on Monday in a victory over Dobyns-Bennett, she was well over the 100 mark again and all of this with a hairline fracture in the ring finger of her pitching hand.

She also smacked two home runs to lead West’s eight-hit attack. Lexi Mullane added a double while Aviah Bunsic, McDaniel, Dyke, Messer and Mikaela Olodey all added singles.

Boone grabbed a quick lead when Masters smacked her 13th homer of the season with a runner on and two out in the first. The Lady Blazes added another run in the inning when Bacon reached on an error and scored on Saul’s double.

Briony Bunsic homered to lead off the bottom of the first and smacked her fifth round-tripper of the season after hits by Olodey and Mullane to put the Lady Trojans in front 4-3 in the second.

Boone went back ahead with a three-run third as Bacon and Saul had run-scoring singles.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Bri Bunsic walked and Aviah Bunsic had a bunt single that was thrown away leaving runners on second and third. Saul came on to relieve Osborne and McDaniel grounded to third. The throw to the plate hit Bunsic in the helmet allowing her to score.

After a strike out, Messer singled to center to score two more runs and give West its 7-6 lead.

That set the stage for the Lady Blazers big rally.