By Thomas Duzan
On Wednesday the Marshall Lions played host to the Charleston Trojans out at Hornbrook Field. It was also Senior Night, with the six senior players recognized before the game. With the wind blowing straight out, the chances were there for a whole lot of scoring from either side. For this game, it came from both teams, combining for eight total home runs.
In the end, though, Charleston had a six-run inning and a five-run inning and would come out on top with a football-like final score of 21-13.
Senior Liam Keim got the start as the starting pitcher on the mound for the Lions for this game, but he struggled early on. He struck out Ty Helton to start but then gave up an infield hit to Wyatt Gordon. A single for Russell Applegate brought up Alex Matheny, who knocked out a three-run home run to left field. Later in the inning, an RBI double for Landon Schafer scored Chase King.
In total, 10 Trojan batters scored four runs. The bottom of the first saw the Lions answer back by scoring twice. Payton McGuire got it started with an infield single. After Max Welsh and Garrett Pugh both grounded out, Reed Ramey came up next and showed some opposite field power, knocking out a two-run homer to left field. That made it a 4-2 game going to the second.
Two more Charleston runs came in to score in the second. Matheny drove in a run with an RBI single, as did King. Then in the bottom of the second, it was Marshall’s time to have the bats break out. Eli Thompson started with a walk. After Ayden Houpt popped out, Branson Maskell was hit by a pitch.
Then up came Tucker Osborn, who saw a couple of pitches and then got the perfect one, and he drove one out with the wind, and it carried out to left field in what is his first career home run in high school (a fact later confirmed by Coach Colan Miller and Tucker himself). on the strength of that, McGuire came up and drew a walk.
Welsh then reached with a single, setting the stage for the second home run of the day from a senior, a three-run shot for Pugh which would travel a tape-measure distance. All nine Lion batters came up to help score six runs and put Marshall up 8-6 after just two innings of play.
The top of the third saw Shane Tarble come on to pitch. He struck out Reid Brinkerhoff to start, then surrendered a hit to Rohan Walters. He would be prevented from scoring on a groundout for Helton, on which Pugh made a good defensive play, and a popout for Gordon. Thompson got on with a hit in the bottom half, but the side otherwise was retired to send the game to the fourth still 8-6 Marshall.
Unfortunately for the home team, the top of the fourth was one of those backbreaker innings. Seven runs came across for the Trojans, five coming on a three-run home run for Gordon and a two-run homer for Matheny, his second of the game. The Lions did counter back with two more runs, one on an RBI double for Pugh and when Liam Keim grounded into a fielder’s choice. Those two runs cut the deficit down to 13-10.
It remained 13-10 through the fifth inning until the top of the sixth. With the bases loaded and Welsh now on to pitch, two runs came across on a two-run RBI single for Matheny, to which were credited to Tarble. An RBI single for King brought in the third. Marshall came back with another run in the bottom of the inning.
Ramey got on with a two-out single, then soon after advanced into scoring position. He would come around to score on an RBI single for Keim. That made it 16-11 Charleston going to the seventh.
A five-run deficit is already hard to come back from, but in the top of the seventh Charleston put the game away for good. They scored five times, including a three-run homer from Gordon, his second of the game. Marshall didn’t go down quietly, as in the bottom of the seventh they pushed two more runs across.
After a leadoff walk for Houpt, both Maskell and Osborn struck out. Then came the top of the order in McGuire, who ended up joining the home run parade with a two-run homer out to center. A strikeout of Welsh brought the game to an end and gave Charleston the win by the wild final of 21-13.