Patriots advance to North State title series

Marshall Academy got tested in the Class 4A state quarter-finals, and it passed the test.

“We showed our resilience,” coach Dustin Skelton said about his baseball Patriots. “Our backs were against the wall, but we responded.”

MA hit the road to Winona Christian for game one and eked out a win in extra innings, lost game two at home and then bounced back quickly with a complete performance to take the series.

“I challenged them after the loss and basically said we can go out and play cleaner baseball or go home (for the season),” Skelton said. “This team is bullet-proof.”

Mason Woods’ solo home run to right-center field in the top of the 12th lifted the Patriots to a 6-5 win Tuesday, April 29, on the Stars’ home field.

“They got up on us early, and we kind of went through the motions,” he said. “We almost got beat. But we fought and pulled it out.”

Phillip Sharpe started on the mound and “didn’t have his best stuff,” Skelton said. He gave up four hits and four earned runs, walked four and struck out six in four and one-third innings.

Collin Woods “bridged the gap” from the mound, Skelton said. He threw seven innings and picked up the win. He surrendered just two hits, walked one and struck out nine. Winona Christian was scoreless in the sixth through the 12th innings.

Leading hitters for Marshall were M. Woods, Gage Todd and Sharpe with two each.

Skelton called game two Wednesday, April 30, at home “the worst performance we’ve had all year.” The Patriots fell 4-2.

Winona blasted a two-run homer in the third.

The Patriots had just three hits, with Hayden Lundine getting two of those. His double down the left-field line in the fifth tied the game, but after that it was all Stars.

“We had the bases loaded with a chance to win it,” Skelton said, “but hit a ground ball. We didn’t compete. For whatever reason, we were flat.”

Todd pitched five innings and M. Woods two.

After a brief break, MA found new life under the lights and eliminated Winona Christian with a 9-3 rout in the next game of the doubleheader.

“We showed up and competed,” Skelton said. “We pitched well, made plays defensively and got timely hits. We played a solid ball game.”

He called pitcher Tucker Chumney “the star” of the night. In recording the complete game win, he gave up four hits and two earned runs, walked three and struck out two. He threw 88 total pitches in seven innings, with 55 of those being strikes.

“It seemed like he got every lead-off hitter out,” Skelton said. “He commanded the zone all night and made the right adjustments along the way.”

The Patriots burst the Stars’ balloon in the bottom of the fourth with three runs to take a commanding 7-3 lead. Leading a 10-hit MA attack in the win were C. Woods, Todd, Colt Carpenter and Sharpe with two hits each. C. Woods drove in three runs and Sharpe two.

The opponent this week for a North State championship is a familiar one, District 1-4A rival North Delta School. The Green Wave took two of three from the Patriots in the regular season.

Game one was scheduled on Tuesday in Batesville. Game two will follow at Marshall, with the day to be determined at press-time. Game three, if needed, would be back at North Delta. MA entered the series with a 25-10 overall record.

“We’re in the hunt for a state championship, and that’s what it’s all about,” Skelton said. “We know it’s going to be a dogfight.”

The winner of the Marshall-North Delta series will play either Tri-County Academy or Riverfield Academy (La.) for the Class 4A state championship next week.