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Patriots softball takes two at home against Pioneers

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5A playoff picture coming into focus as regular season comes to an end

Marion School District Marion’s 2022 softball season has featured some ups and downs, and Tuesday’s conference doubleheader against Batesville at Marion Sports Complex was no different.

The Pats jumped the Pioneers in the first game, scoring 13 unanswered runs in a 13-3 five-inning victory.

Marion overcame injuries to two starters and four errors in the nightcap, scratching out two runs to claim a dramatic 6-5 victory that clinched a spot in the state tournament for the fightin’ Pats.

Freshman Chloe Miller sparked Marion’s winning rally in the seventh inning of game two when she cracked a game-tying double to plate Kelsey Eppes.

Sophomore catcher Jacey Holder reached on an error to deliver shortstop Brianna Morquecho for the eventual winning run.

The Patriots (16-7 overall, 8-2 5A East) can finish anywhere from first to fourth in the conference hunt. Marion plays Thursday at league rival Paragould (9-8, 6-4) and wraps up its conference slate on Tuesday, May 3 at league-leading Greene County Tech (20-4-1, 11-1). The Paragould and Greene County Tech doubleheaders will be streamed live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app.

Marion likely needs to win out to earn its first conference title since 2018, but the Pats are guaranteed to finish in the top four of the league standings. The Class 5A state softball tournament will be held May 12-14 at Hot Springs Lakeside. The Patriots have qualified for the state tournament in 19 of the 21 seasons that they have competed as a fast-pitch softball program.

“I’m just ecstatic for the girls right now,” said Marion coach Sean Gray moments after the dramatic second Batesville game.

“They fought hard for this one. We have some injuries we’re dealing with in different places, but we showed a bunch of heart to come back and get this done.”

It looked like Marion would need some lateinning dramatics in the first game, as Batesville muscled out three hits and scored three times for a 3-0 advantage after the top of the first inning. Marion’s response started when lead-off batter Kelsey Baker was hit by a pitch and Emerson Miller (2-3 in the first game with three runs scored, two walks, and an RBI) walked to summon centerfielder McKenzie Shinabery (3-3 with four RBI and two runs), who plated Baker with a ringing double. Kelsey Eppes (2-3 with two runs and an RBI) walked to load the bases for Anna Hitchman, who brought Emerson Miller to the dish with a single. Anna Murphy (1-3 with a run and an RBI) tied the game with a groundout. Holder (1-2 with two RBI and a walk) plated Eppes and Morquecho (2-3 with a run and an RBI) with a two-run single and the hosts led 5-3 after an inning.

Emerson Miller singled and scored on a Shinabery single for Marion’s lone tally of the second, and the Pats went back to work in the third when Murphy led off with a sharp double to the left-center field gap, Morquecho singled to move Murphy to third, and Holder walked.

Emerson Miller stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs and coaxed a walk for a 7-3 Marion advantage. The lead reached 8-3 when Morquecho scored on a passed ball.

As the Marion offense reached high gear in the opener, Hitchman settled down inside the circle.

Following the three-run Batesville first inning, the sophomore spun four scoreless innings to finish her day by striking out five Pioneers over five innings, allowing four hits and surrendering three runs.

Leading 8-3 in the bottom of the fifth, another Marion rally started when Claire Hall absorbed a pitch before Baker drew a walk

Continued on Page 10

Photo by Londa Hamrick

Marion senior Emerson Miller (7) motors to the plate during Tuesday’s doubleheader sweep of Batesville by the Patriots. PATRIOTS (cont.)

and Emerson Miller reached on an infield single. Shinabery plated two more runs with a ringing double to left field, and Eppes brought Emerson Miller to the plate with a single of her own.

Shinabery scored when she and Eppes executed a double steal, and Marion capped the scoring when Morquecho drove in Eppes with a single.

“We got the bats rolling early, and that was encouraging,” said Gray.

Batesville pitcher Kaelyn Gooch absorbed the loss in the opener, but Batesville threw its ace, Brylie Simpson, in the nightcap.

Simpson worked a perfect first inning, including a pair of strikeouts, and Batesville plated a pair of runs to lead 2-0 after one frame.

The Pats made a bid to get back into the game when Eppes (2-4 in the second contest with two runs) led off the second with a single. Morquecho (2-4 with three runs) struck a two-out single and Eppes scored Marion’s first run of the nightcap when she came across on a passed ball.

Hall delivered Morquecho with a clutch single and the game moved to the bottom of the second knotted at two. Batesville immediately struck back with three in the bottom of the second, and the Pioneers carried a 5-2 lead to the top of the fourth when Morquecho belted a lead-off double and scored on another timely Holder (2-3 with an RBI and a walk) single to bring the Pats within 5-3.

Marion whipped up some two-out magic in the top of the sixth when Baker walked and scored on Emerson Miller’s loud double to left field, which trimmed the deficit to 5-4.

After throwing all five innings in the opener, Hitchman took the ball again in the nightcap and fired seven innings at Batesville, striking out five, surrendering five hits and five runs, just two of which were earned.

Hitchman’s effort held the fort into the seventh inning when Marion trailed 5-4 entering its final at bat.

Eppes reached on an error leading off the frame, before taking second on a passed ball. With one out, Gray summoned freshman Chloe Miller to pinch hit for Micah Cupples. The left-handed-hitting Miller made the most of her first career varsity at-bat, stinging Simpson’s first-pitch strike to centerfield for a double that scored Eppes with the tying run. Miller moved to third on the throw but was thrown out at the plate on Morquecho’s squeeze bunt. With two outs, Holder stepped in and blistered a ball to the right side of the infield, and Morquecho came around with the goahead run to give Marion its first lead of the second game. Hitchman worked around a lead-off single from Simpson and retired the last three Pioneers in order to close out the victory.

“We were able to figure her (Simpson) out a little bit as we went on,” said Gray.

“We kept chipping away and chipping away. Earlier this season we weren’t finishing games, but now we’ve had a few close ones where I think we’re coming through and getting it done.”

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