Softball team drops two to Nickerson
Marion High School Warriors softball team dropped two games to the Nickerson Panthers, 8-7 and 7-3.
After falling a run shy of victory in the first game of the double header, the Warrior bats fizzled out and fell four runs short, losing to the Panthers 7-3.
Nickerson jumped out early in the first inning grabbing two runs to the Warriors' zero. A scoreless second inning for both teams inevitably yielded a run in the third inning for the Panthers. After three innings, Nickerson led 3-0.
Marion held Nickerson scoreless in the top of the fourth inning and scored three runs in the bottom to tie the game. Neither team scored in the fifth inning, but Nickerson scored two runs each in the sixth and seventh innings. The Warriors were shutout in the final two innings of play and fell to the Panthers, 7-3.
In game one of the double header, the Warriors battled back-and-forth with the Panthers only to fall a run short in the final inning of play.
Initially, it looked as though Nickerson would blow out the Warriors. In the top of the first inning, the Panthers rattled off five quick runs. Marion stormed back in the bottom of the same inning to close the margin to one after Caitlin O'Dell, Whitney Wear, Emmy Bowers, and Leann Thomas all crossed home plate. After an inning of play the Panthers led, 5-4.
In the second inning, Marion held Nickerson to one run, while scoring two in the bottom of the second. Heading into the third inning, the score was knotted at six.
After a scoreless third inning, Nickerson added a single run in the fourth, the eventual game-winner.
Offensively, O'Dell, Bowers, and Thomas were two-for-four hitting. O'Dell and Bowers each scored two runs in the 8-7 loss.