Article and Photos by T Ray Henry
The Marshall High School softball team opened the 2026 campaign with a road game against Oakwood High School/Schlarman Academy at Oakwood City Park on Thursday, March 19th. The Lions were coming in having only a handful of practices outdoors due to the weather, while Oakwood/Schlarman came into the game with a record of 3-0.
Marshall senior Avery Cornwell took the ball into the circle to face a Comets squad that defeated Villa Grove, Arcola, and Paris, scoring 30 runs in their first three games. Comets pitcher Irene Rangel struck out 21 hitters in 2 outings, so she was looking to keep her streak going against the Lions who were making their season debut.
Through the first two innings, neither side threatened as the Lions and the Comets both went down in order. Marshall’s Lilly Nickles, making her first appearance in a Marshall uniform, made a nice catch of a drive to left field for the third out in the bottom of the second.
In the top of the third in this scoreless pitchers' duel, Lilly Nickles stepped up to the plate with two outs, and on a 1 and 1 count, Nickles smashed a home run deep over the left centerfield fence which also cleared a backyard fence of a house nearby, giving the Lions a 1-0 lead. One inning later, Lauren English led off the top of the fourth with a drive to the fence in left field for a stand-up triple. She then came home to score on a sacrifice fly by McKenzie Davis to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
The two runs held up the rest of the way as Avery Cornwell hurled a complete game, giving up just one run on three hits while striking out 10 Comet batters. Cornwell had one jam to navigate in the bottom of the seventh, but the Olney Central College signee fought through and got the final out to preserve the win. Cornwell was backed up by solid defense, one coming on a nice running catch by Lauren English, who sprinted in from center field to make the catch and thwart a potential rally.
In the top of the seventh, Klaire York, who was also playing her first game in a Marshall uniform, hit a double, then later in the same inning, Kyla Gustafson had a single for the only other base hits in the ballgame for the Lions.
In the bottom of the seventh, Klaire York and Lynn Welborn combined on a nice rundown of an Oakwood runner who attempted to score from third base. With runners at first and third with one out in the inning, the Comets executed a bunt. York, playing third base, rushed in towards home and grabbed the bunted ball. She immediately spun and saw the runner at third base drifting off the bag towards home thinking York would throw the ball to first base to get the out. York ran the runner back towards third base where York threw the ball to Welborn, who then chased down the runner and got the putout to prevent the run from scoring.
With two outs in the seventh and Marshall clinging to a 2-1 lead, Oakwood/Schlarman loaded up the bases and had the tying and winning runs on in scoring position, but Cornwell shut the door by getting a strikeout for the final out to end the game and seal the Lions' win.
After the game, Marshall head coach Ryan McGuire said, “Our defense picked us up with our bats not working today. Avery Cornwell fought through it in the first game of her senior season, and she came away with 10 K’s to pick up the win. We will have days like this when our pitching and defense carry the day. Lilly Nickles, Lauren English, Klaire York, and Lynn Welborn were very solid in the field and made plays to keep them off the scoreboard. Lilly Nickles hit an absolute bomb in her first at-bat, and that picked the team up. When Lauren English hit that triple and came in to score during the fourth inning, that gave us a little cushion that held up.”
“We will learn from this game and adjust our approach at the plate. When the strike zone is established early on, we need to adjust our at-bats and attack the strike zone accordingly. Hitting the other way, putting down the bunt - we will work on these things because we’ll have more games when we face pitchers who work both sides of the plate and expand the strike zone. Overall, I’m pleased the team got the win over a team that already had three games under their belts and had scored an average of 10 runs a game coming in. We’re looking forward to going to Flora for our next game (tomorrow).”
Marshall (1-0) plays their next game tomorrow (Saturday) morning when they travel to Flora to face the Wolfgals in a non-conference battle beginning at 10:00 AM.
Lilly Nickles smashed a home run in her first plate appearance against Oakwood-Schlarman
Marshall's Lauren English (3) races home with what turned out to be the swinning run against Oakwood-Schlarman
