Article and Photos by T Ray Henry
On Saturday, May 9, 2026, the Marshall High School softball team traveled to St. Joseph-Ogden High School to play in the St. Joe-Ogden tournament, a round robin event on the field turf at Randy Wolken Field. Marshall, Macon Meridian, Pinckneyville, and host St. Joe-Ogden each played two games in the tournament.
With a strong field in this event preparing for the state tournament which begins play next week, it came as no surprise that all four teams finished pool play with identical records of 1 and 1. Marshall defeated Macon Meridian before losing to Pinckneyville. Macon Meridian defeated St. Joe-Ogden before losing to Marshall. Pinckneyville defeated Marshall before losing to St. Joe-Ogden, and the host school lost to Macon Meridian in the day’s first game before defeating Pinckneyville in the day’s final game. If the tiebreaker of the tournament came down to runs scored, Marshall finished by scoring the most runs with 13. Pinckneyville was second with 12 runs scored. Macon Meridian finished third with 10 runs scored, while St. Joe-Ogden finished fourth with 8 runs scored.
In the Lions’ first game of the day, they faced off against the Hawks from Meridian High School in Macon, which is ranked in the top 10 in Class 1A. Marshall senior pitcher Avery Cornwell started for Marshall, and she pitched extremely well, going the distance of 6 inning, giving up 3 runs (1 unearned), 3 hits, and she struck out 3 batters.
Marshall scored in the top of the first inning when Lynn Welborn led off with a double, then Lauren English singled to bring Welborn home with the Lions’ first run of the game. English would later come in to score on an RBI single by Klaire York, and after a half-inning of play, Marshall led 2-0.
After Avery Cornwell pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the first, Marshall came back to bat in the top of the second and tacked on three more runs to lead 5-0 after an inning and a half. With Kyla Gustafson and Lynn Welborn on base, Lauren English ripped a double to score both Gustafson and Welborn with runs #3 and 4. English was brought home by a single hit by Klaire York to make the score 5-0.
In the bottom of the second, Avery Cornwell struck out two and induced a flyout in order to bring the Marshall bats back up to the plate. In the top of the third, Caitlyn Hilliard singled, took second on a wild pitch, went to third when she tagged up on a fly ball, then she came in and slid in safely at the plate on another wild pitch to give the Lions a 6-0 lead.
Meridian scored three runs between the third and fourth innings to counterbalance Marshall scoring one run in the top of the fourth when Lauren English walked and made her way all around the bases to score when a pickoff attempt at third base went down the line in left field.
With Marshall leading 7-3 in the top of the sixth, the Big Red sent 10 batters to the plate and scored 6 runs to take a 13-3 lead. Lynn Welborn led off by smacking a double to center field. Lauren English then bunted her way on with a single as Welborn came in to score on an error. McKenzie Davis then stepped up to the plate, and after English stole second base, Davis launched a long drive over the fence in left center field for a 2-run home run to put the Lions up 10-3. A single by Klaire York and a double by Avery Cornwell put runners on at second and third before Ella Mattas drilled a triple down the line in right field to score both York and Cornwell. Mattas then came in to score on a fielder’s choice as Marshall took a 13-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Avery Cornwell got two groundouts and a strikeout to end the game with Marshall coming away with a 13-3 win over Meridian.
Lauren English and Klaire York each had three hits to lead the offensive attack. Lynn Welborn and Avery Cornwell each had two hits, while McKenzie Davis, Ella Mattas, Caitlyn Hilliard, and Olivia Strohm each had a hit.
In the Lions’ second game of the day, they played the Panthers from Pinckneyville, ranked #15 by MaxPreps in Class 2A. The Lions had difficulty being patient at the plate with off-speed pitching, which led to many popups. Still, in the bottom of the fifth inning, the teams were playing in a scoreless tie when a reversed call on a double play by the Marshall defense had the game enter an alternate universe. When the double play happened, it seemed to energize the Lions. When the call went the other way, the Lions played like they just wanted the game over. When the dust settled, Marshall’s 12-game winning streak was snapped, and the Lions turned the page to Monday’s game at Mount Carmel.
The Lions generated only four base hits in the game, with Lynn Welborn, Klaire York, Kyla Gustafson, and Raegyn Kent recording base hits.
Marshall (21-2 on the season) plays their next game Monday afternoon when they travel to Don Liddle Park in Mount Carmel to take on the Mount Carmel Lady Aces in the final conference game of the year. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 PM.
Tuesday afternoon, the Lions will host Senior Day for Marshall senior players Avery Cornwell, Caitlyn Hilliard, Ella Mattas, Katelyn McNeely, and Lynn Welborn. It is also Youth Day for Marshall kids and fans to come out and meet the team after the game against Dieterich. Come and show your support to this record-breaking team.
Avery Cornwell picked up the complete game win over Meridian at the St Joe-Ogden tournament
McKenzie Davis crushes a home run against Meridian at the St Joe-Ogden tournament
Caitlyn Hilliard slides into home plate head first to beat the tag against Meridian
Klaire York led the Lions in the St Joe-Ogden tournament with 4 hits in the two games
Lauren English had 3 hits, 3 RBIs, and scored 4 runs against Meridian in the SJO tournament
Raegyn Kent rips a line drive single vs Pinckneyville
