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Greeneville jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning of the girls’ Little League softball tournament Friday night but after that, it was all Morristown.

Pitcher Ashley Blackburn allowed only one hit and one run after a slow start in the first and the bats got going on offense as Morristown came back for a 15-5 victory in five innings. With the win, the 11-12 year olds advance to the Little League state tournament in Clarksville.

“She got down on herself when it was 4-0 but our team picked her up and rallied around her,” Morristown head coach Joe Rich said of Blackburn. “She did an awesome job of coming back and shutting down this game. Just for fun, we call her the General out here on the field as she gets everyone going and this time, every one was able to do that for her.”

The All-Stars from Greeneville went up 4-0 in the top of the first but Morristown responded with a six-spot of their own in the home half of the inning. Laken Phillips, Harley Miller and Ava Wolfe all had RBIs in the first. Morristown added three more runs in the bottom of the second with Blackburn aiding her own cause with a single that turned into a run as she was able to come all the way around to score due to a Greeneville error. Two more runs were produced in the third with Wolf hitting another single. Miller picked up her second RBI of the contest when she drew a bases-loaded walk and Maggie Laster also drew the base on balls with the pads full. The game ended in walk-off fashion in the fifth when Rayley Huskey singled and later scored on an error that put Malley Parks aboard with Ally Mullins doubling to center to plate Parks for the 15-5 win.

“We did our best to get back on the ball,” Rich said of his team’s ability to bounce back after a rocky start. “When it comes time to hit, these girls know how to swing the bat. We put the bat on the ball and our base running is impeccable right now and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Rich said his team is ready to head west to take part in the state tournament. “We are excited about it and we have been planning for this for a while. The girls have been practicing hard and worked hard and we are really looking forward to going to Clarksville.”