The Marion softball team scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth and one more in the seventh to walk away with a 9-8 comeback victory and a sweep of Wichita Collegiate last Tuesday.
Marion won the first game, 4-2.
Trailing 6-1 going into the bottom of the sixth, Marion coach Jill Hudson had orders for her team.
?Just before we went up to bat, I told them they have to decide to hit the ball, battle at the plate and take some accountability and just hit it,? she said.
The Warriors followed with base hits on five of six at bats during one stretch of the inning.
Marion tied the game 6-6 with a two-RBI triple hit by Tiffany Christensen. Jordan Harper then drove home Christensen with a triple to take the lead. Harper ended the scoring in the inning on a passed ball.
Collegiate tied the game in the top of the seventh due to Marion mistakes.
With two outs, Annie Whitaker overthrew first on a ground ball hit to third. The error allowed two Collegiate runs to score.
Brooke Johnson then overthrew first after fielding a ground ball, allowing Collegiate?s Rachel Park to advance to third.
Park never scored, as Christensen gunned down the next Collegiate batter at first on a ball hit to shallow right field.
?The errors hurt, but they didn?t let them get them down,? Hudson said. ?They came back and got the outs when they needed to get the outs.?
Redeeming herself from the error, Johnson led off the Warriors? final at-bat with a single. Pitcher Alex Cain then assured her first victory of the season, driving home Johnson with a walk-off triple.
Johnson said she was trying to avoid a repeat of a play at the plate in the first game of the doubleheader.
?I?had gotten out at home earlier in the first game and I was really trying to concentrate on getting to the plate before the ball got there,? she said.
Cain said she struggled at times during the game, but her teammates helped her through.
?Having my team behind me really helps me keep my head up,? she said. ?It?s a lot of fun once I get my head back up and everything goes good.?
Coming?Marion (2-2) was scheduled to host Ellinwood Tuesday and travel to Nickerson Friday.
