Article by Steven Hendrixson, MHS Student Writer
Photos by T Ray Henry
On Thursday, May 7th, the Marshall High School Lady Lions faced off against the Olney Lady Tigers from Richland County High School for a high stakes game in Marshall. The Lady Lions have won at least 20 games in each of the past three seasons. With a record of 19-1 this season, the Lady Lions have a chance to clinch their 4th straight 20-win season and 5th overall in program history. The Lions also currently have a 5-0 record in their conference. A win today would move their record to 6-0, making them the only undefeated team in the LIC conference and securing a second conference championship in school history.
The Lady Lions got off to a good start in the 1st inning, with junior Kyla Gustafson striking out three straight batters and not allowing a single base for the Olney Tigers in the top of the 1st inning. In the bottom of the first inning, Marshall junior Lauren English singled on a bunt to third base. Later, Klaire York singled on a line drive, and English scored a run for the Lady Lions.
In the top half of the second inning, Kyla Gustafson would struck out the side without allowing a run to score. In the bottom 3rd inning, the Lady Lions went up 2-0 after senior Lynn Welborn hit a long solo home run to left field.
In the bottom 4th, senior Ella Mattas stepped up to the plate and singled on a hard ground ball to shortstop. Senior Caitlin Hillard then went on double to right center field as Mattas scored for the Lady Lions to go up 3-0 for the day.
In the bottom 5th, Lynn Welborn singled on a line drive. After Lauren English sacrificed her to second base with a bunt, junior McKenzie Davis then stepped up to the plate and drove a single on a line drive to center field, allowing Welborn to score another run and putting the Lions up 4-0.
In the 6th, after a ground out by an Olney batter, Kyla Gustafson would then go on to strike out two straight batters to end the inning. In the top of the 7th, Olney got a run when a fly ball to center field hit by Kaiya Seessengood carried over the fence for a home run. The Lions then finished the Tigers off after Gustafson caused a batter to ground out, and then she struck out two more batters in securing the win for the Lions by the score of 4-1 to give the Lions at least a share of the conference crown.
Standout pitcher Kyla Gustafson struck out a total of 13 batters, being a constant terror for Richland County all game long. Marshall seniors Caitlyn Hilliard and Lynn Welborn each collected two hits for the Lions. Junior McKenzie Davis, Caitlyn Hilliard, Lynn Welborn, and Klaire York each drove in one run for Marshall.
This marks Marshall’s 20th win of the season, the 5th 20-win season in school history, and 4th straight 20-win season, with seniors Caitlyn Hilliard, Avery Cornwell, Ella Mattas, Kaitlyn McNeely, and Lynn Welborn each being part of those four teams. With this historic win, Marshall also won the conference title, their 2nd ever conference championship in school history. Today was truly a great day to be a Lion.
The Lady Lions (20-1) will travel to St. Joseph-Ogden High School this Saturday where they will play Macon-Meridian and Pinckneyville at 10:45 AM and 12:30 PM, respectively, in the St. Joe-Ogden Tournament.
2026 Little Illini Conference Softball Champions
This strikeout by Kyla Gustafson ended the game and clinched at least a share of the LIC Conference championship for Marshall
Lynn Welborn hit her 7th home run of the season in the Lions' win over Richland County
Ella Mattas hits a laser for a single for Marshall against Richland County
Kyla Gustafson struck out 13 Olney batters to pick up the complete game win
