Hesston scores 17 consecutive runs to topple Warriors

By ELIOT SILL

Staff writer

When the sun went down, so did the Warriors.

After building a 7-1 lead, Marion saw Hesston first claw its way back into the game, then seize a commanding 11-run cushion of its own in a regional first round game Monday night.

Marion was seeded second in its bracket, but Hesston simply put the right rallies together to bring to an end the Warriors season.

“We didn’t expect it to end this way,” head coach Jennifer Felvus said. “Earlier in the game we didn’t expect it to end this way. But you know, sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they don’t. The hardest part about tonight is that it’s goodbye to my seniors.”

Sam Davies, Shayla Klein, Madison Stephen, Sheridyn Arterburn, and Julia Hall all played their last game in a Marion uniform Monday.

Felvus said they led a group that showed tremendous tenacity all season long.

“Every group that I’ve had’s had fight, but this group, I don’t know, there was a spark,” she said. “There was a spark that started a fire that we rode for a long time, and it was a great ride.”

Prior to Monday, Marion had won nine of its previous 10 games.

“We struggled with some routine things,” Felvus said. “When things started to not go our way, we maybe tried a little too hard to make things happen. But I’m never gonna fault a girl for trying to make something happen. It just got away from us that time.”

Marion fell behind 7-18 in the seventh inning before a rally in the final inning fell short, with the final score 10-18.

The team gathered in a circle near third base after the game, interlocking arms, and Felvus addressed them for the final time this season. Many came away rubbing tears from their eyes.

Once the tears were gone, however, it was time to look to the future.

“Unfortunately I have to say goodbye to my seniors, but to those that are returning, you know, we’re gonna say the best is yet to come,” Felvus said. “There’s still some fight here, and we’re gonna go into next year looking for an even better season.”