Gardendale senior Chandler Mims takes a swing on Friday in Bowers Park. 

The bases were loaded, the count was full and Charlotte Phillips was 2 for 3 on the day, so Gardendale junior Kaitlyn Clark took a deep breath and let go of the best pitch she had.

A screwball did the trick as Phillips watched the third strike pass into the mitt of Sarah Beth Brake for the final out of a 4-1 win over Pinson Valley in Bowers Park on Friday.

“They adjusted to me hitting the outside pitch, so I had to do something else and go inside. I was just getting tired and everything was kind of floating so I had to get through it and make one last good pitch,” said Clark following the North-Central Regional Tournament No. 1 qualifier game.

After holding the Indians to a three-hit shutout through the first six innings of play, Clark and the Gardendale defense slipped into some seventh-inning trouble. With a spot in the state tournament on the line, Pinson Valley strung together three hits, including a Savannah Mayes RBI single, and put the go-ahead run at the plate with two outs recorded.

But that’s when Clark shut the door and the Gardendale dugout stormed the field in celebration of their second straight state tournament invite.

“I have a lot of confidence in Kaitlyn. She’s a great pitcher and I’m glad she was in the circle for us to get that win,” said senior first baseman Chandler Mims, who missed last season’s state tournament run with an injury.

Clark finished the game with seven strikeouts while allowing one run on six Pinson Valley hits. She pitched with a lead from the third inning on thanks to back to back passed balls by the Indians. Kendall Stricklyn slid in for the first run of the day and was immediately followed by Abbie Waters.

Savannah Pennington and Carlee McCondichie provided two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Pennington opened the half-inning with a double and moved to third on a bunt single from McCondichie, an Auburn pledge. Kylee Franklin and Mims would team up with a pair of sacrifice fly balls.

The Rockets will ride a six-game winning streak to Montgomery next Friday. In their three games at regionals, Gardendale outscored its opponents 33-4 and outhit them 36-15.

“I’m super excited for us to go to state and be able to play my senior season,” said Mims.

Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.