Marshall crushes North foes

The Marshall Academy Lady Patriots took care of Winona Christian School twice Monday and celebrated a Class 4A North State championship on their home field.

It was the MA softball team’s third straight North crown and fourth in the last five years.

“We played good the whole tournament,” head coach Carlton Gibson said. “Our pitching was good, and we got key hits when we needed them.”

The Lady Pats got off to a slow start in the finals of the winner’s bracket Monday morning but caught fire later and scorched Winona 11-1.

MA scored one run in the bottom of the fourth on a Winona error.

Then Marshall added four in the fifth. Kamdyn Taylor singled. Gracie Rappa bunted and reached on an error. Landry Loper and Christa Schultz followed with singles, and it was 5-0.

After the Stars scored one in the top of the sixth, the Lady Patriots ended the game on the 10-run rule in the bottom of that inning.

Leading the way in the sixrun inning were Hallie Turner, Natalie Shaw and Carlie Vannucci, all with key hits.

For the game, Schultz drove in three runs and Loper, Shaw and Vannucci each had two runs-batted-in. Zoey Rippee had a hit and an RBI. MA had seven hits.

Hallie Turner was masterful from the circle. She tossed a one-hitter ­ striking out 12 and walking three.

Marshall then faced Winona again later in the day with the North title on the line. The Lady Patriots continued their red hot hitting and bombed the Stars 16-2 to claim the first-place trophy.

MA, after falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first, responded in fine fashion with one run in the bottom of the first, six in the second, two in the third and seven in the fourth.

Shaw had a double and two RBIs in the big second inning, while Meredith Anthony’s double scored two in the big fourth.

Anthony led the 14-hit attack with four hits and three RBIs. Shaw had two hits and four RBIs.

Others chipping in offensively were Taylor, two hits and an RBI; Rappa, two hits; Turner, a hit and two RBIs; Schultz, a hit and two RBIs; Loper, a hit and an RBI; and Vannucci, a hit and an RBI.

Turner earned the win from the circle for the Lady Patriots (20-6-1). She struck out seven, walked one and gave up three hits.

Vannucci pitched one inning in relief. She struck out three, walked one and gave up two hits.

The 4A State Tournament will be played Saturday, Oct. 2, and Monday, Oct. 4, at the Magee Sportsplex in Magee. The top two teams will then advance to a best-two-of-three series next week to determine the championship.

“The real season starts Saturday,” Coach Gibson said. “Hopefully, we will stay focused and dialed in. We will be hard to beat if we play to our potential.”