Marshall County High School was the site of the annual Big Orange Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Marshals played two games on Friday and one on Saturday and finished up 2-1 and improve to 5-2 on the season.
After opening the tournament with a 5-3 loss to McCracken County, the Marshals bounced back with two victories: a 3-2 win over Festus (Mo.) and a 9-6 win over Benton (Ill.).
Just three days after a 9-5 loss to McCracken County, the Marshals had another shot at the Mustangs in their first game of the Classic.
Marshall County took a 3-1 lead after four innings, but the 10-time regional champion Mustangs rallied in the sixth, scoring three runs to take the lead before adding another in the seventh to seal a 5-3 victory.
At the plate, Kash Chiles went 2-for-3 with a double, while Kannon Dunn hit a key two-run double. Thomas Bagby pitched five and two-thirds innings, striking out nine while allowing seven hits and four runs in the loss.
Trailing 1-0 after a solo home run by Kendrick Dunning in the top of the fourth, the Marshals responded in the bottom of the inning. Chiles led off with a single, followed by an Ayden Clevidence walk. Dunn then delivered a two-run double, and Maddox Cope drove in Dunn to give Marshall County a 3-1 advantage.
With two outs in the sixth, McCracken County mounted its comeback. Singles from Braden Truitt and Brady Thompson set the stage for Braden Casebier, who launched a three-run homer to put the Mustangs ahead 4-3.
McCracken County pitcher Will Fox shut down the Marshals offense in the bottom of the inning and later drove in the Mustangs’ final run in the seventh to secure the 5-3 win.
McCracken 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 | 5 10 1
Marshall 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 | 3 5 0
Marshall: Wyatt 1/3, Chiles 2/3 (2B), Dunn 1/2 (2B, 2 RBI), Cope 1/3 (RBI)
Marshall: Bagby 5.2 (7H, 4R, 1BB, 9SO), Gray 1.1 (3H, 1R, 2SO)
McCracken: Grace 1/4, Dunning 2/4 (2B, HR, RBI), Fox 1/3 (RBI), Casebier 2/3 (HR, 3 RBI)
McCracken: Kern 1.2 (0 H, 0R, 2BB, 3SO), Penrod 1.2 (4H, 3R, 1BB, 3SO), Reeves 1.2 (1H, 0R, 2BB, 2SO), Fox 2.0 (0H, 0R, 1BB, 5SO)
Marshall County followed the loss up in the late game on Friday with a 3-2 walk off win over Festus, Mo.
Hudson Doughty led the offense, going 3-for-3 with a single, double, and triple while driving in two runs. Thomas Bagby added two hits, including a double, and an RBI.
With the game tied 2-2 after seven innings, the Marshals sealed the win in the bottom of the eighth when Doughty drew a bases-loaded, two-out walk to bring home the winning run.
On the mound, Kaden Merrick earned the victory, allowing one run on two hits over two innings while striking out four.
Festus 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 | 2 6 2
Marshall 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 | 3 8 2
Marshall: Wyatt 1/4, Doughty 3/3 (2B, 2 RBI), Bagby 2/3 (2B, RBI), Chiles 1/4 (2B), Dunn 1/3
Marshall: Dunn 6.0 (4H, 1R, 2BB, 6SO), Merrick 2.0 (2H, 1R, 2BB, 4SO)
Festus: Nolen 1/3, Good 1/5, Smith 1/3 (RBI), Ijames 1/4 (RBI), Brown 1/2
Festus: Schaumburg 4.0 (4H, 1R, 2BB, 7SO), Ijames 3.2 (4H, 2R, 6BB, 4SO)
Saturday, the Marshals racked up 11 hits in a 9-6 victory over Benton (Ill.). Hudson Doughty had a perfect day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs, while Matthew Henderson went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs.
Henderson got things started early with a two-run single in the first inning to give the Marshals a 2-0 lead. Benton responded in the second, capitalizing on an error and a two-run homer by Kruz Koester to take a 3-2 advantage. Marshall County quickly tied the game on a Doughty RBI single before reclaiming the lead at 4-3 when Kash Chiles was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
After Benton evened the score at 4-4 in the fourth, they briefly pulled ahead 5-4 in the fifth. The Marshals answered by plating four runs in the bottom of the inning. Two runs scored on an error, followed by RBI singles from Henderson and Kaden Merrick to extend the lead to 8-5.
Both teams added a run in the sixth to round out the scoring.
Kamden Story earned the win on the mound, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out one over two innings.
Benton 0 3 1 1 1 0 0 | 6 8 5
Marshall 2 2 0 4 1 0 x | 9 11 0
Marshall: Wyatt 2/5 (2B), Doughty 3/3 (2 RBI), Bagby 1/4, Chiles (RBI), Henderson 2/4 (3 RBI), Merrick 1/4 (RBI), Gray 1/2, Clevidence 1/3
Marshall: Morgan 2.0 (4H, 3R), Story 2.0 (2H, 2R, 1BB, 1SO), Shadowen 3.0 (2H, 1R, 2BB, 2SO)
Benton: Thomas 1/4, Butler 1/3 (2B, Severin 1/3 (RBI), Irvin 1/3 (RBI), Gage 2/3, Robinson 1/1 (2B, Koester 1/2 (HR, 2 RBI)
Benton: Irvin 4.0 (7H, 8R, 2ER, 1BB), Robinson 2.0 (4H, 1R, 3SO)