The second time was the charm for the South Warren softball team.

Playing in the Region 4 championship game for the second year in a row, South Warren broke through for the first region title in school history, outlasting Greenwood 3-1 on Wednesday at the WKU Softball Complex.

After losing 1-0 to Warren East in last year’s title game, South Warren (25-13) never trailed Wednesday to avenge a loss to Greenwood in last week’s District 14 championship game.

South Warren is the first school other than Greenwood, Allen County-Scottsville or Warren East to win the region title since Franklin-Simpson won in 1999.

“We opened this thing six years ago,” South Warren coach Chris Riggs said. “It was a process where the girls wanted to be one of the best teams in the region. They did a great job of working hard and progressing each year. The semifinals (two years ago) and last year the region (final), kind of a heart breaker. The plan was to get back here and get another chance. They did a great job.”

South Warren and Greenwood had a slugfest in Friday’s District 14 final which the Lady Gators won 9-6, but Wednesday’s rematch was more of a pitcher’s duel.

The Spartans took the lead in the third when catcher Lauren Martin smashed a two-run homer to left field.

Greenwood answered in the bottom of the inning with a solo homer from shortstop Alexis Dean to make the score 2-1.

The Lady Gators appeared to have tied the game, or perhaps taken the lead, in the fifth inning when – with runners at first and second and two outs – Abbi Woodcock hit a line drive into the gap in right center field.

The hit was waved off. as second base umpire Mike Berry ruled that Reagan Fletcher left second base early, calling Fletcher out to end the inning.

“He said she left the bag early and he warned her three times,” Greenwood coach Steve Albert said. “I guess the fourth time was the charm. I don’t know how you make a call in a game like that. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. The ball was in the gap. She would have scored.

“I hate to lose a game on a call like that. That decided the whole ballgame. We score, it is tied and changes the whole momentum of the ballgame.”

South Warren got an unearned run in the top of the seventh to get some insurance and Williams retired the Lady Gators in order in the seventh to secure the region crown.

“It means a lot,” Martin said. “We just held together as a team the entire season. Yeah, there were battles here and there, but we did the best we could. We came together and it paid off.”

South Warren junior pitcher Karson Williams, who went the distance in the District 14 championship loss, bounced back to contain an offense that had scored nine runs in three straight games. The left-hander scattered five hits, striking out three and walking one.

“I really focused on keeping the ball low,” Williams said. “We knew if I kept the ball low then we could keep the ball low and my team would have my back. My change-up was working really well and we threw that a lot. We haven’t thrown them many slow pitches (this year) so we went with the change-up and it worked really well.”

Martin and Madilyn Daughtery had two hits each for the Spartans.

Williams was named tournament MVP with Martin, Daugherty, Emma Mills, and Alexis Isable joining Williams on the all-tournament team.

The other members of the all-tournament team included Greenwood’s Dean, Alex Grubbs, Reagan Fletcher and Maddie Thomas; Allen County-Scottsville’s Ryley Whitney and Mallory Marr; Logan County’s Kennedy Nichols and Kaylin Page; Glasgow’s Zoie Ross and Amanda Lee; Cumberland County’s Reagan Grider, Bailey Morgan, and Brooklyn Wright; Franklin-Simpson’s Dru Knight, Alannah Fuller, and Madison Davis; and Russell County’s Brittany Simpson and Daleyn Emerson.

South Warren will face Region 11 champion Scott County in the state softball tournament on June 9 at Jack C. Fisher Park in Owensboro.

Greenwood ends it season 22-14.

“I think we exceeded everybody’s expectations,” Albert said. “We kind of said at the beginning of the year that we were going to surprise some people and I think we did. To come a run or two within going to the state tournament, I told these girls that they have nothing to be ashamed of.

“They’ve done a heckuva job. I guess there wasn’t enough lightning left in our bottle. We couldn’t get a hit the last couple of innings and we couldn’t bring Dean back up.”

SWHS 002 000 1 –  3  5  0

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WP: Williams LP: A. Willgruber

— Follow preps reporter Micheal Compton on Twitter @mcompton428 or visit bgdailynews.com.