Solid in Senatobia

Solid in Senatobia

Toppers’ unbeaten streak hits 5 after tie and win

Sports Editor

SENATOBIA, Mississippi — After a 2015 summer that saw the Marion Toppers go 37-9 behind a strong offense, life has been a little different for the 2016 edition.

That was never more evident than last Saturday at Jim Miles Field on the campus of Northwest Mississippi Community College.

The Toppers moved to 7-21 overall after notching a 22 tie and picking up a 1-0 victory against the Mississippi Shockers. Marion moved to 2-1-1 against the Shockers after the outing in Senatobia.

In the opener, Marion trailed 2-0 after the first inning and was getting nohit until a Cam Smith single in the fourth inning.

The Toppers plated their only two runs in the bottom of the sixth, breaking through on three hits before Riverside product Kollin Stone entered to hold the Shockers at two runs in the seventh, featuring a pair of strikeouts.

In the nightcap, a fiveinning outing, Marion tallied the game’s only run when Nolan Smith singled and scored on a double by Bryce Logan.

The one run was held up by Gavin Stone, who worked 3.2 innings, allowing just three hits and no runs. Kollin Stone entered in the bottom of the fourth to escape a jam with the bases loaded before working a perfect fifth inning to post his second save of the year, as well as a pair of holds.

Marion has not lost since a 12-4 loss to the Ponotoc Red Sox last Tuesday at USA Stadium in Millington, riding an unbeaten stretch of five games. Still, Junior Weaver has concerns about his team’s offense.

“I saw some guys tonight take better at-bats,” says the Marion Toppers head coach. “We have some hitters that don’t have a lot of plate discipline, not very selective. We’re not picking up the ball out of the hand, not finding the spin. We have to get better. We don’t have the offensive firepower that the team last year had, so we’re gonna have to try and manufacture some more runs, put more runners in motion, more firstand- third-type stuff.”

The Shockers jumped on the Toppers and starting pitcher Larkey Dotson early in the game as the Mississippi outfit came up with three hits and two runs in the top of the first, highlighted by a two-run single by rightfielder Cooney for that 2-0 lead.

However, Dotson would settle down, retiring the last seven batters that he faced in his three-inning start.

Dotson would give way to Kris Peet, who worked three innings of his own, allowing just one hit, no runs and striking three batters out.

Peet would hand off to Stone for the seventh, where the righty worked a perfect final inning.

All told, the Marion bullpen pitched four innings and allowed just one baserunner, while facing the minimum amount of batters over the same timeframe as Peet’s one hit was erased on a pick-off in the sixth.

“Two guys with two good arms. They throw strikes and pound the zone,” Weaver said of his two bullpen studs. “They’re two kids when you’re on a college campus, they stick out and are attractive to anybody.”

Despite the bullpen’s dominance, the Marion offense was stuck in neutral until the sixth when Kollin Stone singled and scored on a Nick Alsbrook double to cut the Mississippi lead in half.

A Trent Johns single would plate Nolan Smith, who reached on a hit-bypitch, and very nearly scored Alsbrook, but a good throw to the plate cut down the Toppers’ third baseman to keep the score tied at two apiece.

Gavin Stone would single for Marion in the bottom of the seventh, but would get no further and the game would end in a tie.

The nightcap was just as tight as the opener as Gavin Stone kept Mississippi off of the scoreboard before handing off to his brother, Kollin late.

Marion is scheduled to play Memphis Homeschool Academy tonight at John Robbins Field at 5:30 p.m. It will be a seven-inning and a five-inning doubleheader.

By Chuck Livingston