Warriors are slashed by Knights
The Marion High School girls' softball team was swept April 17 by the Sacred Heart Knights. Despite leading in game one for almost four innings of the scheduled double-header, the Warriors couldn't control the talented Sacred Heart team, falling in the first frame 4-3. In the second game, the Warriors strung together a late-game surge in the top of the seventh inning only to fall two runs shy of the Knights, losing 10-8.
In the first game, the Warriors jumped out to an early one-run advantage after catcher Sarah Williams crossed the plate on an Emmy Bowers RBI single. Marion and the Knights exchanged goose-eggs for the next two innings. In the top of the fourth, Sacred Heart held the Warriors scoreless and added three runs on their own to take a 3-1 lead.
Marion remained resilient, scoring in the top of the fifth inning as Leann Thomas crossed the plate narrowing the margin to one run. The Warriors shut out the Knights for the next two innings, and in the top of the seventh, Marion snared another run to tie the game up at three.
After holding Sacred Heart scoreless in the bottom of the seventh inning, the game moved to extra innings. The Warriors failed to capitalize on their at-bat, and ultimately surrendered the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth.
Offensively, Bowers was two-for-four for the game including an RBI.
In game two, the Warriors found themselves trailing early after two shutout innings. Meanwhile, Sacred Heart compiled eight runs in the first two innings to take an 8-0 lead, before the Marion team woke up offensively in the third. The Warriors snared two runs in the third inning to close the margin to six.
Two scoreless innings followed.
In the fifth inning both teams added two runs. In the final inning of play, Marion's four runs were two runs short of closing the gap completely, ultimately chalking up another win for the Sacred Heart Knights.
Canton-Galva
The Warrior softball team made quick work of Canton-Galva April 15, sweeping the Eagles while on the road. The Warriors defeated Canton-Galva, 19-0 and 21-0, in a two-game double-header shut-out.
"(The games against Canton-Galva) were really good games for us," head coach Charlotte Waner said. "We were really into the game both mentally and physically. We did a great job executing our game and overall I thought we did very well."
In game one of the double header, the Warriors compiled five runs in the first and five more in the second to take an early 10-run lead. Marion added a run in the third and then eight runs in the fourth to take the 19-0 victory.
All but one Warrior starter rounded the bases to score during the first game. Seniors Caitlin O'Dell and Emmy Bowers both had hits in the game. O'Dell walked four times in the contest. Bowers picked up the win on the mound for the Warriors.
In game two, the Warriors continued where they left off, saving most of their run totals for the end of the game. Marion jumped out to a two-run lead in the first, but failed to touch home plate in the second inning. In the third inning, the Warrior offense redeemed itself rattling off six runs to take a commanding 8-0 lead. Marion added three runs in the fourth and nine runs in the fifth inning to take the eventual 21-0 win.
Every Marion starter scored in the contest against the Eagles. Bowers led offensively with three hits on four at-bats while scoring four runs. Thomas was two-for-four in the win with two runs scored.
Council Grove
The Warriors split their double-header games April 13 with Council Grove. In game one, Marion rallied late in the fifth and sixth inning to come away with an 8-6 win. In game two, the Warriors fell apart and scored just one run over the course of six innings. Marion fell 14-1.
"We played really well in the first game," Waner said. "In the second game we weren't in the game mentally. We committed errors and failed to make contact on pitches. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't a good situation."
