‘Emotional baseball’

It was 10:30 Wednesday night, and no one on the home side wanted the celebration to end.

The Marshall Academy Patriots, with their backs against the wall in the three-game series, had just swept rival Kirk Academy for the Class 3A North State championship.

"Nobody wanted to leave," said head coach Bruce Branch, whose team upped its record to 30-3. "We could have built a campfire and stayed all night."

After dropping game one, 4-1, at

Grenada on Monday, May 3, a determined MA bunch bounced back to beat the Raiders 11-6 and 7-5 and claim the top trophy in the North and move on to the state championship series this week.

"It was the first time all season we've faced adversity," Branch said about going down 1-0 in the series. "We knew we had to play good baseball to have a chance, and we did."

The Patriots set the tone early in the must-win game two May 5 at Patriot Field.

They went up 3-0 in the bottom of the second and never trailed.

Jordan Bonds led off with a double. Jamie Graves hit a line drive to center field for a double and two runs-battedin. Colton Atherton singled and drove in a run.

MA then scored four runs with two outs in the bottom of the third to go up 7-1.

Jack Smith got a big hit to left field and an RBI, plus another run scored on a Kirk throwing mistake. Jamie Graves came through again in the clutch, this time with a two-out hit and RBI.

Rusty Bolden led off the bottom of the fourth with a hit, and later scored on a Raider error. The lead was 8-3.

The Patriots wrapped up their scoring with three in the fifth, all coming on Atherton's blast over the center-field wall.

Kirk scored three in the top of the sixth but could not get any closer.

The Patriot offense collected 11 hits.

Getting two each were Atherton, Jamie Graves, Smith, Bolden and Bonds. Walker Sanders added a double. Bolden had two stolen bases.

Jackson Graves was the winning pitcher for Marshall. In five and one-third innings, he struck out nine, walked one and gave up eight hits.

"Jackson showed a lot of emotion early, got into some trouble and then settled in and threw well," Branch said. "He worked out of a couple of bases-loaded jams. He threw his best at them and commanded the zone."

Bolden threw one and twothirds in relief and closed the door. He struck out four, walked one and gave up two hits.

"We were able to limit Rusty's pitches and then use him again in game three," Branch said.

That next game was a battle — big-time. MA grabbed the momentum in its first at-bat, later found itself trailing and rallied for the win.

W. Sanders' double to left scored two runs in the first, and the Pats picked up another on a wild pitch.

The Raiders responded to tie the game at 3, two of those coming on a home run in the top of the third.

Landon Houston put Marshall back on top, 4-3, with a two-out, solo homer to center field in the bottom of that inning.

"That was a huge hit for us," Branch said.

In the top of the fifth, Kirk scored two runs to go up 5-4, and MA trailed for the first time of the night in either game.

Getting two each were Atherton, Jamie Graves, Smith, Bolden and Bonds. Walker Sanders added a double. Bolden had two stolen bases.

Jackson Graves was the winning pitcher for Marshall. In five and one-third innings, he struck out nine, walked one and gave up eight hits.

"Jackson showed a lot of emotion early, got into some trouble and then settled in and threw well," Branch said. "He worked out of a couple of bases-loaded jams. He threw his best at them and commanded the zone."

Bolden threw one and twothirds in relief and closed the door. He struck out four, walked one and gave up two hits.

"We were able to limit Rusty's pitches and then use him again in game three," Branch said.

That next game was a battle ­ big-time. MA grabbed the momentum in its first at-bat, later found itself trailing and rallied for the win.

W. Sanders' double to left scored two runs in the first, and the Pats picked up another on a wild pitch.

The Raiders responded to tie the game at 3, two of those coming on a home run in the top of the third.

Landon Houston put Marshall back on top, 4-3, with a two-out, solo homer to center field in the bottom of that inning.

"That was a huge hit for us," Branch said.

In the top of the fifth, Kirk scored two runs to go up 5-4, and MA trailed for the first time of the night in either game.

three, walked none and gave up just one hit.

The coach said he appreciates the tremendous support of the community in the final two games of the North State series.

"Coaching from the thirdbase box, looking at the hitter and seeing the crowd erupt, that was very exciting for a coach," Branch said.

The Patriots will meet Riverfield Academy (La.) in a three-game series this week for the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools Class 3A crown. MA hosts game one Wednesday at 6 p.m. The series then shifts to Rayville, La., for games two and three (if needed) Friday at 5 p.m.

Branch started this road, to the state championship series, three years ago when he was hired as the MA head coach.

"It's encouraging to see the fruits of our labor — how far we've come in a short amount of time," he said. "The kids have bought into it, and they're fun to watch.

"To be 30-3 at this point, what these kids have done is pretty special. We've put MA baseball back on the map."

He said with the top two teams in 3A battling for the state title, it still comes down to pitching, hitting and defense.

"We have to throw strikes and get ahead in the count," Branch said. "Our hitters have to compete at the plate. When we get runners on, we can make things happen. And of course we have to make the plays defensively."

This team is seeking the school's first-ever state championship in baseball.