Marshall County’s Lady Marshals beat Calloway County 7-4 in 11 innings to win their first 4th District Championship since the 2019 season in what was their 16th straight title game appearance on Tuesday night in Murray.
Tied 4-4 at the end of the regulation seven innings, it would take four more innings to decide the outcome with both teams continuing to hit well and put potential game winning runners on base. The Lady Marshals finally broke through with three runs in the top of the 11th and held the Lady Lakers to a single hit in the bottom of the inning to win the title.
Both teams combined for 31 hits with the edge to the Lady Marshals with 17. Allicen Harris picked up the win over six innings, striking out seven while allowing nine hits and three runs. Gracelyn Darnall worked five innings, allowing five hits and one run.
Calloway County got off to a 3-0 lead early in the game, scoring the runs in the bottom of the first inning. Allicen Harris got the Lady Marshals out of the inning with a strikeout with two on base.
The Lady Marshals put a run on the board in the top of the second when Marin Oakley hit a single that scored Chevelle Henson who led the inning off on a single.
The scored remained 3-1 in favor of Calloway County until the top of the fifth when the Lady Marshals tied the game up with two runs. Both runs scoring on sacrifice fly balls hit by Chloe Coursey and Darnall.
Calloway County took the lead back in the bottom of the fifth on a 1-run single hit by Hailee Jones and the Lady Marshals tied it up again at 4-4 in the top of the sixth on a single by Madyson Morton that brought in pinch runner Kenzlee Terry.
On to extra innings, Calloway County loaded the bases on two outs with an intentional walk to Ashlynn Bazzell by Harris. Harris induced a line drive by Emerson Grogan that the Lady Marshals turned into a double play to get out of the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, Harris hit a single and a sacrifice bunt by Oakley moved courtesy runner Emma Reynolds over to second. Morton was hit by a pitch and Anna Vasseur hit a single that loaded up the bases but they were left stranded with the third out.
Calloway County left a runner stranded in the eighth and it was on to the ninth inning where Darnall led off with a single but was also left stranded with the next three outs. Jones hit a 2-out triple for the Lady Lakers in the bottom of the inning but also left on base with the third out and it was on to the 10th.
Emerson Grogan’s pitching successfully put away the first three up for the Lady Marshals and then she led off with a double for the Lady Lakers in the bottom of the 10th. Intentional walks by Harris to McReynolds and Preslee Phillips loaded the bases with two outs but a fly ball out ended the inning for Calloway County.
Vasseur led off the 11th inning with a single, a sacrifice by Coursey moved her to second and a single by Darnall put two on for the Lady Marshals. Henson hit a double that brought two runs across the plate and a single by Merriel Jackson brought in the third of the inning to bring the epic 4th District battle to an end.
All District Team
Marshall: Anna Vasseur, Gracelyn Darnall, Allicen Harris
Calloway: Carson McReynolds, Emerson Grogan, Hailee Jones, Preslee Phillips
Murray: Kylie Chapman, Marlee Riddle
Christian Fellowship: Jayden Jackson
Marshall 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 7 17 3
Calloway 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 14 0
Marshall (18-14): Morton 2/4 (RBI), Vasseur 3/4, Coursey 1/4 (RBI), Darnall 3/5 (RBI), Henson 2/6 (2B, 2 RBI), Jackson 1/5 (RBI), Harris 3/6, Oakley 1/3 (RBI), McLeod 1/4
Calloway (14-15): Phillips 1/5 (3B, Lax 1/5 (2B), B. Grogan 2/6 (RBI), Jones 4/6 (3B, 2 RBI), E. Grogan 2/6 (2B), McReynolds 2/4, French 1/3, Herndon 1/4
Marshall: Harris 6.0 (9 hits, 3 runs), Darnall 5.0 (5 hits, 1 run)
Calloway: Jones 5.0 (7 hits, 3 runs), E. Grogan 6.0 (10 hits, 4 runs)
