Patriot softball splits double-header with Valley View

Marion goes 1-and-1 with new force in tough 5A East

By Chuck Livingston

Marion School District

JONESBORO — Valley View's arrival into Class 5A this school year has raised the profile and competitive level of many sports, but perhaps none more so than softball.

After all, the Blazers won last season's Class 4A crown with a team full of underclassmen, so competing in a larger class immediately seems likely.

This is why Marion's 5A East doubleheader split on Tuesday night at Jack Moore Complex was so exciting for the Patriot faithful.

Valley View (7-3 overall, 3-1 5A East) never trailed in the first game of the twin-bill, scoring in four of its six innings for a 10-5 victory.

But Marion (6-4, 3-1) flipped the script in the nightcap, taking control of the proceedings with a nine-run third inning before senior infielder Brianna Morquecho drove in sophomore Chloe Miller with the game's winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Marion victory keeps the Patriots very much in the chase for the school's first conference title since 2018.

“This one took the whole team to win a game like this tonight,” said Marion coach Drake Rowton.

“Everyone has a job on this team, and especially in the second game tonight, they did it. I'm proud of them for hanging around in the game, but I'm most proud that when someone was called on, they did their job.”

Game One Valley View 10, Marion 5

Marion senior left-hander Anna Murphy took the ball for the first game and competed well, striking out three batters with no walks. The Patriot offense managed six hits in the lidlifter, with senior centerfielder McKenzie Shinabery, senior catcher Jacey Holder, and junior utility player Ella McConnell driving in runs.

Trailing 6-0, Marion's offense hit high gear in the top of the sixth when Murphy doubled and Holder chased in sophomore Maddie Cupples with a grounder. McConnell delivered Marion's second run when her single plated freshman Alexis Jones.

Shinabery brought McConnell around with a single and Miller capped the sixth-inning scoring

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when she down on an error to get Marion within 6-4.

However, Valley View struck back for four unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth, and though Marion got one back in the top of the seventh when Anna Hitchman delivered Kelsey Eppes with a grounder, the Pats could muster no more.

Game 2 (8 innings) Marion 13, Valley View 12

Marion registered 12 hits and 13 runs in the second game, while also taking five walks. Eppes (3-4 in the second game at Valley View with an RBI and a run), Shinabery (2-4 with two runs and a walk), Morquecho (4-5 with two runs and two RBI), and Miller (4-2 with two runs and an RBI) led the way with multiple hits, while senior infielder Kelsey Baker's (three runs scored with three RBI) only hit was a long, towering threerun home in the third inning.

Murphy took over in the fifth inning of the nightcap and closed out Valley View by firing the final 3.2 innings, surrendering three hits, and three runs (two earned).

Valley View struck for a run in the top of the first inning, but Marion swiftly responded in the home half of that frame, scoring three times. Holder's double delivered Shinabery for the tying run, while Murphy's groundout produced a pair of runs as Baker and Jones came down for a 3-1 Marion lead.

But the Blazers scored three times in the second and one more time in the third for a 5-3 lead going into the bottom of the third. That's when the Marion offense hit high gear when Morquecho singled and Baker walked as the frame's first two hitters.

Morquecho came around on a passed ball, and Hitchman delivered Baker and Murphy with a double.

Eppes extended the rally with a hard-hit triple into the gap that delivered Cupples for a 7-5 Marion lead. Miller joined the fun with two outs when she pounded a double into the gap that easily scored Eppes.

Morquecho doubled in Miller after Shinabery walked, setting the stage for Baker, who turned around a 2-1 pitch and deposited it well over the left-field wall for a dramatic home run that pushed the Pats ahead 12-5.

But Valley View chipped away at the Marion lead, scoring once in the fourth, five times in the fifth, and one more time in the sixth inning to tie the game at 12.

Still working in the seventh inning, Murphy retired Valley View in order, and Marion looked poised to walk it off in the home half when Eppes drilled a oneout double, but the next two Patriots went down in order.

That set the stage for international softball rules in extra innings, where the last out of the previous inning starts the extra inning on second base with nobody out.

But the Marion defense was nails behind Murphy, once against retiring the side in order. The Blazers bunted their runner over for

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the first out of the inning in the top of the eighth and looked poised to score when pitcher Riley Smith hit a slow roller to Marion freshman first baseman Kendall Eppes. Eppes fielded the ball in fair territory, looked the runner back, and stepped on first to record a crucial second out. Morquecho knocked a ball down and made a strong throw to retire Valley View in the eighth.

Shinabery bunted Miller to third base with just one out, when Morquecho jumped on the first pitch and punched it to the outfield to drive in Miller with the winning run.

What’s Next?

Marion travels on Thursday to Tipton-Rosemark Academy for a 6 p.m. Varsity game. The Patriots return home on Tuesday when they host Nettleton for a 5A East doubleheader, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

March 28 5A East Results

Valley View 10, Marion 5 Marion 13, Valley View 12 (8) Greene County Tech 6, Paragould 4 Greene County Tech 13, Paragould 3 Searcy 11, Nettleton 0 Searcy 7, Nettleton 0 Batesville 8, W. Memphis 5 W. Memphis 7, Batesville 6

5A East Standings & Conference Records

Greene Co. Tech 4-0 Marion 3-1 Valley View 3-1 Searcy 2-2 Batesville 2-2 Paragould 1-3 W. Memphis 1-3 Nettleton 0-4 The top 4 teams will make state playoffs at Marion.