Pats sweep Nettleton
Marion softball takes two from Lady Raiders
By Chuck Livingston
Marion School District
Marion's central theme for the early portion of the 2025 softball schedule has been “get in the truck,” a reference to the Patriots' sheer volume of road games and tournament dates in March.
But the Patriots have done some of their best work this season inside the friendly confines of AR Construction Stadium.
Marion won its fourth straight home game Tuesday evening, sweeping a 5A East doubleheader from Nettleton, ripping the Raiders by scores of 6-5 and 21-4, the latter ending after four innings.
Marion scored the game's first five runs before surrendering five in the top of the fifth inning, leading to Patriot shortstop Presley Kuhn tripling while leading off the bottom of the sixth and scoring the eventual game-winning run on a wild pitch for a 6-5 Marion victory.
The Pats carried that momentum into the nightcap, scoring 12 times in the top of the first inning to easily coast to a 214 victory in four frames.
'I really like the good things that we do, and we did enough of them tonight,' said Marion's third-year coach Drake Rowton. 'As soon as we cut out our mental mistakes, we will be really good, and I'm excited to see that.'
Marion (11-7 overall, 5-1 5A East) got a lift from freshman Madelyn Hamrick, who went 3-3 in the first game with 2 runs scored and an RBI, while Kuhn finished 2-3 with 2 runs scored. Chloe Miller drove in a run, while Kolbie Triplett scored once and delivered an RBI. Kayson McClain went 1-3 with an RBI and a run,
See PATS, page A20
Photo by Londa Hamrick PATS
From page A7
and Jordyn Stinson also plated a run.
Marion senior right-hander Maddie Cupples worked five quality innings inside the circle, surrendering five runs, though none of them were earned. Cupples struck out four Raiders and scattered five hits. Triplett started the Marion scoring when she singled, stole second, and scored on McClain's double for a 1-0 lead.
The advantage pushed to two runs when Stinson rapped a single into center field and delivered McClain as Marion enjoyed a 2-0 lead after an inning.
The Patriot uprising continued in the second stanza, when Kuhn singled and scored on Hamrick's hit to left-center field, and Hamrick came down on Miller's double to the right-center field gap for a 4-0 bulge.
Triplett delivered Hamrick with a fourth-inning hit for a 5-0 Marion lead.
Nettleton made a bid to get back into the proceedings in the top of the fifth, scoring five times to tie the game at 5 apiece.
That score held until the bottom of the sixth, when Kuhn drove the first pitch of the inning into the left-center field gap and legged out a lead-off triple, and came down on a wild pitch to push the Pats back in front.
McClain worked around 2 walks in the top of the seventh to deny Nettleton the tying run as Marion celebrated a dramatic one-run victory.
'Really good response by our girls after their big rally,' said Rowton. 'They did a good job after we came out swinging it well and slowed us up.'
Marion marched 16 batters to the plate in the top of the first in the nightcap, plating 12 runs in the first frame, 3 more in the second, a single run in the third, and 5 more in the fourth inning, while allowing Nettleton to score just 4 times in the bottom of the second.
Marion muscled out 18 hits in the second contest, including a 4-4 day from Miller with 4 runs scored and an RBI, 3 hits apiece from McClain (3-4 with 6 RBI and 3 runs), Stinson (3-3 with 2 RBI and 2 runs), and 2 hits from Triplett (2-4 with 3 RBI and 2 runs).
Kendall Eppes drove in 2 runs and scored twice.
McClain and freshman Kynlee Shaull combined to cover 4 innings in the second game, allowing only 4 hits and striking out 5 Raiders.
'The offense in the second game is more like we expect to see,' said Rowton. 'We were really good tonight about barrel to ball. I don't know how many barrels we had, but it was about as well as it's been this year in a game. We made the adjustments and were able to have the type of night we expect to have.
