A two-week Spring Break did not apply to the Marion softball team, as the Patriots stayed busy during the respite with a trio of non-conference games. Marion maintained its perfect 2023 home record last Tuesday when the Pats took down a 10-0 six-inning victory over Briarcrest Christian on a rainy, cold afternoon. The Patriots sprung back into action the following day in a 14-4 road loss to a stout Hernando, Mississippi outfit. Marion wrapped up its run last Saturday when the Pats lost a lead in the middle innings of a 9-3 defeat at St. Benedict at Auburndale. Marion sits at 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the 5A East ahead of a critical conference doubleheader on Tuesday at Valley View. The Valley View twin bill will be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app. MARION 10, BRIARCREST CHRISTIAN 0 (Six innings) Marion scored twice in the second inning before blowing the game open with a six-run fourth frame to mercy rule Briarcrest Christian at Marion Sports Complex. Senior left-hander Anna Murphy claimed her third win and first shutout of the spring by hurling 5.1 innings, and allowing just three hits with three strikeouts. Freshman Alexis Jones got the final two outs, including a strikeout. The Marion offense pounded out 10 hits against Briarcrest, including two apiece from seniors McKenzie Shinabery (2-4 batting against Briarcrest with an RBI and a run), Murphy (2-3 with an RBI and a walk), and Jacey Holder (2-4 with an RBI). Juniors Ella McConnell (1-2 with a run, a hit-by-pitch, and an RBI) and Kelsey Eppes (1-3 with a run, RBI, and a walk) added doubles. As a team, Marion walked five times and did not strike out. Eppes sparked a rally in the second inning when she walked and scored on Murphy's double. Murphy gave way to courtesy runner Jones, who came around on an Anna Hitchman groundout and Marion led 2-0 after a pair of innings. Holder got things cooking in the fourth when she struck a one-out single before sophomore Maddie Cupples entered as a courtesy runner. Cupples promptly stole second base before Hitchman walked. That duo came around when McConnell crashed a double for a 4-0 Marion advantage. McConnell scored on an error, and Shinabery chased in courtesy runner Olivia Morquecho with a double. Shinabery came around when senior Kelsey Baker singled, and Eppes delivered Baker with a clutch two-out single as Marion's lead reached 8-0. The Pats went back to work in the fifth when senior Claire Hall plated sophomore Supriya Chowdhury with a single, and Marion initiated the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth when Holder's double chased home Jones with the hosts' 10th run. HERNANDO, MISS. 14, MARION 4 Playing its second game in two days, Marion watched Hernando score 11 runs in the game's first two innings to effectively remove all drama in a 14-4 loss last Wednesday. Four Marion errors led to six unearned Hernando runs in the defeat. Offensively, Marion recorded seven hits, including two apiece from Shinabery (2-3 with an RBI and a run at Hernando), and Hitchman (2-3 with a walk, RBI, and a run). Both of Shinabery's hits went for extra bases, as she pummeled her third home run of the spring and a double. Baker, Hall, and Holder also had hits for the Pats. Shinabery opened the scoring for Marion when she led off the third inning with a mammoth home run, and the Pats threw up three runs in the fourth when Hitchman doubled in Cupples, Hall delivered Hitchman with a single. Brianna Morquecho plated McConnell with a groundout. ST. BENEDICT AT AUBURNDALE 9, MARION 3 Host St. Benedict at Auburndale scored six times in the bottom of the fifth inning on Saturday to establish the winning margin in a 9-3 victory. Baker came through at SBA, where she went 3-3 with three doubles and a pair of RBI. Morquecho was 2-4 with a run, while Murphy was 1-3 and Hall logged a hit and a walk. Marion started the scoring in the first when Morquecho singled and scored on Baker's first double and the Pats led 1-0 after a frame. The visitors reclaimed the lead in the third when Chloe Miller scored on a Baker hit, and an Eppes groundout delivered Jones for a 3-1 Marion advantage. But SBA tied the game with a pair of runs in the fourth before the winning six-run outburst in the bottom of the fifth swung the contest to the hosts. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion travels Tuesday to Valley View for a crucial 5A East doubleheader. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., and both games can be viewed on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network mobile app. 5A EAST STANDINGS ON MARCH 27 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Marion 2-0 Valley View 2-0 Greene Co. Tech 2-0 Batesville 1-1 Paragould 1-1 Nettleton 0-2 Searcy 0-2 W. Memphis 0-2