Marshall County and Calloway County squared off in the 4th District baseball semifinals Monday, with a spot in the championship game and the Region 1 Tournament on the line. In the end, it was the Marshals who came out on top, defeating the Lakers 5–3 to set up a title game matchup with Murray.
The two teams split their regular season series – Calloway winning 7-6 on April 22 and the Marshals picking up an 11-2 win two days later.
Calloway struck first, scoring a run in the top of the first on a bases-loaded walk by Cuyler McDaniel. With the bases still full, Marshall starter Thomas Bagby struck out the next two batters to finish off the threat. The Lakers extended their lead to 2–0 in the third when Conner Lockhart came home on a groundout.
Singles by Matthew Henderson and Kash Chiles put base runners on in the fourth inning. A ground ball by Maddox Cope, who reached on an error, loaded up the bases and Henderson scored on a fielder’s choice by Clayton Wyatt.
Bagby led off the fifth with a single, and courtesy runner Maxon Mitchell moved to second on a bunt by Talon Rose. Hudson Doughty followed with an RBI double to tie the game, and Kannon Dunn launched a two-run homer to give Marshall a 4–2 lead.
Calloway closed the gap to 4–3 with a run in the sixth, but the Marshals responded in the bottom half. Cope led off with a single and later scored on a double by Wyatt for an insurance run.
Bagby earned the win, going five innings with seven strikeouts, allowing five hits and two runs. Hayden Gray picked up the save.
Marshall and Calloway had played in seven straight district championship games coming into this season, the Marshals holding a 5-2 advantage. This will be the first time facing Murray in the title game since the 2016 season, when the Marshals won 6-3.
The Marshals improve their overall record to 20-8 while the Lakers season ends with a record of 14-12.
First pitch for the 4th District Championship between Marshall County and Murray is at 6:30 at Preston Cope Field.
Calloway 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 | 3 6 1
Marshall 0 0 0 1 3 1 x | 5 8 1
Marshall: Doughty 1/3 (2B, RBI), Dunn 1/3 (HR, 2 RBI), Henderson 1/3, Chiles 2/3, Cope 1/3, Wyatt 1/3 (2B, 2 RBI), Bagby 1/2
Marshall: Bagby 5.0 (5 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 7 SO), Gray 2.0 (1 H, 1 R, 1 SO)
Calloway: Cantrell 1/4 (RBI), Morrow 1/4, Con. Lockhart 2/3, Col. Lockhart 1/2, McDaniel (RBI), Akin (RBI), Cruz 1/3
Calloway: Cantrell 6.0 (8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO)
Marshall vs. Calloway – 4th District Semi-final
