The Marshall County Tigerettes made their first-ever region tournament appearance on Monday and ran into a buzz saw as the Blackman Lady Blaze rolled a three-game sweep over the Lewisburg girls.

“I’m super proud of this team,” MCHS assistant coach Curtis Self said. “We have three seniors who have been here since they were freshmen.”

“They have worked hard and they have been the ones who have been knocked out every year in the district, so they finally got here and I’m really proud of how hard they worked and it’s a great honor to be here and to be one of the four teams left in the region.”

The was no quit in the Tigerettes’ squad in the Region 4 Tournament at the Smyrna Lanes, but they were up against a severe handicap as two of the Blackman bowlers came into the event with averages over the 207 mark.

Blackman won a close first game 998-948 before pulling away in a game two, winning 1,064-887.

The Blaze finished off the match with 1,047-885 win in game three.

Blackman’s anchor and 2017 State Tournament Individual runner-up Baileigh Snow came in with a 213 average and picked it up even higher with games of 252, 256, and 209 for a 717 series and a three-game average of 239.

Sarah Sanes was in the number-two slot for the Lady Blaze and rolled 211, 200, and 232 for a 643 series and a 214.3 average, seven pins above her 207.7 average on the year.

“She (Snow) threw a 717 series, she was the third best girl in the state and we knew she was going to be a handful when we got here,” Self said. “Another girl (Sanes) was the sixth girl in the state and they were just a real powerful team.”

“We couldn’t afford to miss a lot of shots, you could afford to miss a shot here and there, but we just missed too many spares.”

Sophomore Abby Self anchored the Tigerettes with games of 201, 153, and 166 for a 519 series and a 173 three-game average, eight pins above her regular season mark.

Senior Alexia Udell was next with a three-game series of 504 (168 average), sophomore Emma Self rolled a 471 series (157 avg.), freshman Katie Udell was fourth with a 447 series (149 avg.), senior Tori Jordan averaged 144.7 in a 434 series, and senior Victoria Curran finished with a 409 series (136.7 avg.).

Senior Madison Hinson came on for Udell midway through game three.

With the sophomore Self sisters and Katie Udell, the Tigerettes have a huge opportunity next season to repeat a berth in the region tournament and claim their first-ever district title.

The Tigerettes opponents in District 8 are Tullahoma, Lawrence County, Columbia Academy, Columbia Central, Franklin County, Mt. Pleasant, Santa Fe, Spring Hill, and Summit.

“The off-season is just a lot of practice, especially spare shooting,” Self said. “People want to see strikes, but spare shooting is where you really get your points from.”

“We also need to get a few more girls up to their level next year and I really think we have a good shot at getting in the regional tournament again.”

Blackman went on to beat Stewarts Creek for the region title and spot in the sectional round.

Game One

Marshall County (948)

Katie Udell-124

Victoria Curran-151

Abby Self-201

Emma Self-168

Tori Jordan-141

Alexia Udell-163

Blackman (998)

Baileigh Snow-252

D.D. Hailey 150

Jamida Chindavann-111

Sarah Sanes-211

Abby Shaw-148

Jessica Broh-124

Game Two

Marshall County (887)

Katie Udell-161

Victoria Curran-133

Abby Self-153

Emma Self-143

Tori Jordan-110

Alexia Udell-187

Blackman (1064)

Jamida Chindavann-176

D.D. Hailey 133

Baileigh Snow-256

Jessica Broh-152

Abby Shaw-147

Sarah Sanes-200

Game Three

Marshall County (885)

Katie Udell/Madison Hinson-97

Victoria Curran-125

Abby Self-166

Emma Self-160

Tori Jordan-183

Alexia Udell-154

Blackman (1047)

Jamida Chindavann-156

Sophia Damico-120

Baileigh Snow-209

Jessica Broh-184

Abby Shaw-146

Sarah Sanes-232