Baseball team drops two, wins one
Eric Clark
Sports Editor
Strong slugging slowed down the Marion baseball team Friday afternoon in Wichita, as the Warriors fell to Wichita Trinity Academy 9-3 and 13-3 in a double header.
After two solid games vs. Chase County, the Warriors headed into their battle with Trinity hoping to extend their winning streak. Initially, it looked as if Marion might repeat their performance against the Chase County Bulldogs, taking an early 2-0 lead over the Panthers in the first inning.
But Trinity tacked on three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 advantage over the Warriors.
Trinity added two more runs in the second and third inning, but Marion snagged a run in the fourth to keep things close, the score was 5-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Panthers added a run in the fourth inning and three more runs in the fifth inning to claw the Warriors 9-3.
In game two of the double header, the Trinity bats took over in a big way, connecting on 16 hits and scoring 13 runs in the game to Marion's four hits and three runs.
The Panthers scored nine unanswered runs going into the fourth inning. The Warriors added three runs in the fifth inning, but surrendered three more runs in the bottom of the same inning to finish 10 runs short.
Marion vs. Chase County — The Warriors grabbed two wins against Chase County Tuesday, 7-1 and 13-5.
Marion jumped out on the Bulldogs early in game one, scoring seven unanswered runs until inning seven when Chase County added a run.
Enos pitched the seven-inning contest to near perfection. The senior struck out 19 batters and surrendered just three hits and one run, while hitting 2-for-3, knocking in two runs, scoring two runs, and stealing a base in the win.
"Enos pitched the best he has pitched all year," Spoonts said. "Nineteen K's is a Marion record in a seven-inning game. Mitch also led the team with two hits, two runs, and two RBIs. He is tearing the cover off the ball. Tyler Richmond had two big hits as well."
Richmond was 2-for-3, with an RBI and a stolen base.
In game two, things got a little testy initially.
After giving up three runs in the first inning, the Warriors scored five runs to take a 5-3 advantage into the third inning.
The Bulldogs closed the margin to one in the third inning, but Marion remained resilient and fended off the Chase County attack adding eight runs over the next three innings. Chase County added a late-game run, but the Warriors trotted away with a 13-5 win.
Chamberland pitched six innings, striking out four, giving up five hits and four runs in the start. Shipman pitched an inning and struck out one and gave up a run in relief.
"Clayton started slow giving up three," Spoonts said. "We came back and pushed out five runs in the first, then four more in the third, followed by two and two."
Matz was 2-for-3 in the chalked square with an RBI and two stolen bases. Enos was 3-for-4 and also recorded an RBI and two stolen bases. Shipman was 2-for-4 in the contest, including a homer that landed near the goal posts on the football field. Shipman had three RBIs and a stolen base in the win.
"I was very pleased with our offensive production," Spoonts said. "In the last six games we have scored 59 runs. We seem to be coming together at the right time. I am very proud of the way we have played in the last two double headers. Twenty hits in a double header will make it very hard for teams to beat us. We are getting geared up for regionals. Each game we have built a little more confidence. We will be prepared for regionals and Hillsboro."
The Warriors played SE of Saline May 12 and will host Herington on Thursday.
