By Thomas Duzan
On a warm, muggy Tuesday the Marshall Lions were back in action at Hornbrook Field, playing host to the Oakwood Comets. It was tightly contested for much of the game, then a late-game breakout with the bats aided the Lions in going on to a shutout 8-0 victory, ending an eight-game losing streak.
Olney Central College-bound Payton McGuire toed the rubber as the starting pitcher for Marshall. He got the first two outs when he got Weston Frazier to fly out and Riglee Hart to ground out. Then he walked the next two batters, Xander Wilson and Carsen Dudley to put runners at first and second. They would be stranded as Collin Furry grounded out for the third out.
It was a quiet bottom of the first for the Lions. McGuire led off striking out, as did Tucker Osborn. Garrett Pugh came up next and had a solid at-bat, including a couple of loud foul balls, but ultimately ended up flying out to send the game to the second scoreless at 0-0.
McGuire struck out Nate Young and Grady Johnson for the first two outs, then Cam Harris grounded back to him on the mound for a 1-2-3 top of the second. The first Lion hit of the game came on a one out single for Eli Thompson. Other than that, the side was retired and the game went to the third still 0-0.
The Comets’ first batter in the third, Sam Markham drew a leadoff walk to start the third. From there, Frazier lined out to right, then a strike-’em out, throw-’em out double play occurred on a strikeout of Hart, and on the play Markham was thrown out looking to take second.
The Lions went down without much noise in the bottom of the inning, as Branson Maskell, Gavan Propst and McGuire all struck out. So after three innings the game remained 0-0.
McGuire went back to work in the top of the fourth. He surrendered a leadoff hit to Wilson, but then got Dudley to fly out, and got strikeouts of both Furry and Young. The bottom of the inning saw the Lions get on the board for the first time. After Osborn popped out, Pugh was hit by a pitch.
Liam Keim then got on base with a single. An infield fly popup for Thompson marked the second out of the inning, but then Max Welsh came up next and knocked a solid line-drive into right-center field for a two-run RBI double that scored both Pugh and Keim. Ayden Houpt grounded out to end the inning, but not before those two runs made it 2-0 Lions after four innings of play.
Oakwood got a walk from Harris with one out in the fifth, but otherwise McGuire retired the side once again. Marshall went down in order in their half of the fifth, and that sent the game to the sixth still 2-0 in favor of Marshall.
The Comets got a couple of runners on in the top of the sixth when Hart and Dudley were both hit by a pitch. With runners at first and second and one out, McGuire dug in and struck out both Furry and Young to negate any further scoring threat. Then in the bottom of the sixth the Lions had a big breakout inning. It all began with a double from Osborn. Pugh and Keim then drew walks.
That loaded the bases for Thompson, who ended up being hit by a pitch, on which a run came into score. Two batters later, another run came across when Houpt grounded into a fielder’s choice. Up next came Maskell, who broke out of a slump with an RBI double that scored another run.
Then the big blow of the inning came when Propst got into one and it carried out over the left field wall for a three-run home run. A total of 10 batters took to the plate to score six times and give the Lions a commanding 8-0 lead.
McGuire went back to the mound in the seventh looking to finish the job with a complete game shutout and did exactly that. He struck out Johnson and Harris and got Markham to ground out to end the game and give Marshall a dearly needed win, by the final of 8-0.