The Marion softball team concluded the regular season with a 2-2 week to finish with a Heart of America league record of 10-6, 12-8 overall.
Hutchinson Trinity—Marion lost two games to end the regular season to a team in the Warriors’ regional bracket.
The Warriors lost Game 1, 9-4, and were blanked for six innings before rallying in the bottom of the seventh. Marion committed seven errors, and only one of Trinity’s runs was earned.
Trinity scored one run in the first inning, three in the third and one in the fourth to build a 5-0 lead. The Celtics increased that margin to 9-0 with a four-hit, four-run top of the seventh.
Down to its final three outs, Marion rallied. Taylor May led off with a triple, then Paige May hit a single. The first run scored on a wild pitch, and the second, on a ground out. Bailey Baker worked a walk, then Taelyn Pagel hit a two-out single. Corrina Crabb hit a single to load the bases, then Shelby Felvus pushed across two final runs with a single.
Six Warriors had one hit: Felvus, Kourtney Hansen, Taylor May, Paige May, Pagel and Crabb.
Felvus (12-5) absorbed the pitching loss. In seven innings, she gave up eight hits and nine runs (one earned). She walked two batters and struck out three.
Marion struck out 14 times.
The Warriors lost Game 2, 7-4, in eight innings.
Each team plated one run in the opening inning, Marion’s via error, ground out and wild pitch.
Trinity broke the tie by plating one run in the sixth inning, but Marion took the lead with a four-hit, three-run bottom of the sixth. Taelyn Pagel hit an RBI single, and Katelyn Christensen worked a bases-loaded walk to key the frame.
The Celtics, however, used three hits and a hit batter to score two runs in the seventh inning and tie the game.
Marion stranded the winning run at second base in the bottom half of the inning.
Trinity scored three runs off three hits in the eighth inning to break the tie. The Celtics also benefited from a hit batter and a walk.
Marion managed one hit in the bottom half of the inning.
“Our defense is what came out flat in Game 1,” coach Jennifer Felvus said. “We had a lot of overthrows in Game 1, and I’m not really sure what triggered that, but that kind of thing can become viral. Game 2 was a much better played game, and we fought and clawed in the offense, but we’re also, at that point, facing the struggle of they’ve seen my pitcher for 14 innings.”
Kourtney Hansen was 2-for-3 at-bat. Baker was 2-for-4. Pagel had one RBI.
Emily Hague (0-2) sustained the pitching loss. She gave up three hits and three runs (all earned) in 2⁄3 inning of relief. She walked one batter.
Inman—Marion swept the Teutons Monday, 21-2 and 22-3.
The Warriors piled on runs late in Game 1, scoring 11 runs in the top of the sixth inning, which invoked the mercy-rule at the conclusion of the inning.
Inman took a 1-0 first-inning lead, but Marion claimed it for good with a three-hit, two-run top of the second inning in which Shelby Felvus hit an RBI double, and Kourtney Hansen, an RBI single.
The Warriors plated seven more runs off six hits and an error in the third inning. Felvus keyed the frame with a two-RBI triple. Taylor May and Paige May hit back-to-back RBI doubles.
Inman scored its final run in the bottom half of the inning, but Marion got the run back with Felvus’ fourth-inning RBI single.
After a scoreless inning, Marion brought 15 batters to the plate in the top of the sixth and knocked out eight hits, which also included a pair of walks, an error and a hit batter. Taylor May and Katelyn Christensen each hit two-run singles in the half-inning.
When the dust settled, Marion led, 21-2.
Four Warriors were 3-for-5 at-bat: Felvus, Lindsey Sigel, Taelyn Pagel and Corrina Crabb. Felvus had five RBIs.
Felvus (11-4) earned the pitching win. In six innings, she gave up two hits and two runs (one earned). She walked two batters and struck out four.
Marion won Game 2 in three innings, using a 14-run top of the third inning to blow the game open.
The Warriors scored in all three innings, plating one run on a passed ball in the first inning, then scoring seven runs off six hits in the second. In that half-inning, Taylor May hit an RBI triple, Corrina Crabb an RBI double, and Taelyn Pagel a two-run single.
Inman scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning, but Marion pushed across 14 runs off nine hits in the third inning. The Warriors worked seven walks in the frame. Bailey Baker and Taylor May hit two-run singles.
“It took us a little bit to adjust because of the decrease in speed from the pitching,” coach Jennifer Felvus said. “We practice at a much higher speed so that we’re ready for teams that have that, so we were a little slow getting started. But once the girls set in, I was pretty proud of the way they turned that around.”
Taylor May and Pagel were both 3-for-3 at-bat. Taylor May had four RBIs.
Felvus (12-4) earned the pitching win. In three innings, she gave up two hits and three runs (two earned). She walked one batter and struck out five Teutons.
