By Eric Woods Tribune Sports Editor

GREENEVILLE — The Morristown 12U All-Stars are one win away from the state tournament.

After scoring six runs in each of the first two innings and scoring 17 total the day before, it took the Morristown bats a few innings to find their rhythm on Wednesday. Once they did, the hits came in bunches as Morristown pulled away for a 9-2 victory over Greeneville at Hardin Park.

Pitcher Cassie Carver struck out three in the top of the first inning, and E.C. Stewart led off the bottom of the frame with a single and later scored on a wild pitch. Morristown went scoreless in the second inning, and Haven Linkous tagged up and made it 2-0 after three.

Greeneville’s Sophia Kinsler then stole home in the top of the fourth to put pressure on Morristown entering the bottom of the frame.

Morristown responded with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth, batting around the 11-player lineup to seize control.

“It was big for the girls,” head coach Jennifer Stewart said. “I could tell when we came out today that they were still tired from last night. It was a long game, that was a long six innings. It took a little while for us to get going, but we finally came alive in the fourth inning. We really showed what we can do at the plate, and then we held it together in the field. We cleaned up some things from last night. We didn’t have the errors. We played clean. Cassie pitched another amazing game. I asked her to come back in, try to finish this out, and she came in still on a tired arm and finished a complete six-inning game again. So I couldn’t be more proud of how they played tonight.”

Paisley Jenkins drew a leadoff walk in the fifth, and she scored on the throw following a Keylee Linkous single. Kenya Boyd followed with a walk.

With runners on second and third, London Dailey (Continued from page B-1)

battled an 0-2 pitch and put it in play with an RBI groundout to make it 4-1, solidifying Morristown’s momentum as the floodgates began to open.

Boyd followed by scoring on a wild pitch, Edie Hyde singled and later scored on a passed ball and Maddey Helton made it 7-1 with an RBI single. Stewart then delivered another blow, ripping an RBI double that hit the center-field wall. Kylie Dickerson closed Morristown’s scoring following a Carver groundout, where she scored on the throw to make it 9-1.

“I give London Dailey a whole bunch of credit,” Stewart said. “She’s the one who hit that RBI. We had our bases loaded, and she hit that RBI in, and we were able to move our runners. We had two walks, and we had, I think, one hit at that point, but really the girls were maybe not being consistent; we were drawing more walks or seeing more balls, but London’s hit really kind of came up, we got to that movement, and then we turned our lineup back over. We went from middle all the way down and all the way back up, and almost batted around that inning. So, it was huge. I mean, they really started to see it that inning and decided how they were going to sit back and wait on it.”

Carver struck out the Greeneville side in order in the top of the fifth and willed herself through her 12th inning in two days in the top of the sixth. After Nataysia Parton drew a walk to lead off the frame, Carver struck out the next batter. Caroline Shelton then walked, but the hurler followed with another K. Greeneville’s Kiley Marshall walked to load the bases, and Kinsler walked in the home team’s second run of the night. However, Carver was able to deliver the knockout with a strikeout to end the game.

Carver ended the game with 15 strikeouts.

Stewart went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs, Keylee Linkous went 1-for-2 with a single and a walk and Edie Hayes went 2-for-2. Haven Linkous also had a hit along with Helton, who also had an RBI.

The Greeneville All-Stars didn’t collect a hit but drew 12 walks, led by Shelton, Abby Carter and Elena Moreno with two apiece.

The win gives Morristown a much-needed day of rest, and it will return to action on Friday to face the winner of Greeneville-South Jefferson in the District 4 Championship. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. on Friday, and a win sends Morristown to the state tournament, while a loss forces a winner-takeall game on Saturday at 10 a.m.

“I’m looking forward to a day of rest,” Stewart said. “The girls definitely need that, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they’re going to take everything that they’ve gained in these last two games and putting that into action, and really coming out and staying strong and staying hot in all regards.”