JONESBORO --- In a clash between two of the better high school baseball programs in Arkansas, the team that comes up with the big hit often wins. In Tuesday night's tilt at Jack Moore Complex in Jonesboro, Valley View was able to come up with the crucial play at the best time to turn away defending Class 5A state champion Marion. The Blazers, who won the 2021 Class 4A title before finishing as state runner-up a season ago, rode a dominant pitching performance from junior Louisiana-Monroe commit Eli Crecilius to a 3-0 victory in the opener. Junior Ole Miss commit Slade Caldwell took the ball for the nightcap, also going the distance, while Carter Saulsbury struck a three-run double in the fifth inning to give Valley View a 4-1 victory. Prep Baseball Report ranked Marion and Valley View as its No. 3 and No. 6 teams in the state prior to Tuesday's double-dip, and many consider the Patriots and Blazers the most likely 5A East conference champions in 2023. VALLEY VIEW 3, MARION 0 Crecelius struck out five batters and walked just one in the first game, and Valley View struck for single runs in the first, fourth, and fifth innings to make it stand up. Drew Gartman sparked the Valley View rally in the first inning when he walked and scored on a Keaton Mathis groundout to give the hosts a 1-0 lead after the first. But that's when Crecilus and Marion starter Davis York dug in, as the pair of hurlers swapped zeroes until the fourth. Crecilus retired the first 14 Patriots he saw before he issued a fifth-inning walk to Tyler Carey. Following the free pass, he sat down the final 13 Marion batters in order. Kayson Becker reached on a dropped third strike in the fourth inning, and Valley View manufactured a run when Tyler Hoskins struck a triple for a 2-0 Blazer advantage. Mathis delivered Slade Caldwell with a single in the fifth inning to cap the scoring for Game One. York was the tough-luck loser in the opener, striking out 10 Blazers in six innings while allowing just four hits. VALLEY VIEW 4, MARION 1 Caldwell took the ball in the nightcap and fired seven innings, striking out seven Patriots, and surrendered just five hits, with four walks. Marion had Caldwell on the ropes in the bottom of the third when Parker Nash, Matthew Kearney, and Carey walked, but Caldwell induced a Connor Taylor groundout to snuff out the threat. Marion senior right-hander Jett Sutton dueled Caldwell through four scoreless innings, but Valley View broke through in the top of the fifth with all four of its runs. Leading 1-0 with two outs but the bases full of Blazers, Carter Saulsbury struck a three-run double to give Valley View full control of the contest. York tallied Marion's only run of the night with a long home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth, but the final four Patriots went down in order. Kearney finished 2-3 with a walk in the second game, while Carey walked twice. York finished 2-3, including his home run, and Nash was 1-2. Sutton started and threw 4.2 no-hit innings at Valley View while striking out five. Daxton Davis and Cohen Bumbaugh combined to cover the final 2.1 innings, allowing just three hits and striking out three. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion may not play again until Tuesday, April 4, when the Patriots host Nettleton for a 5A East doubleheader at First National Bank of Eastern Arkansas Stadium, home of John Robbins Field. The first pitch of the Nettleton contest is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM MARCH 28 Valley View 3, Marion 0 Valley View 4, Marion 1 Searcy 17, Nettleton 1 Searcy 12, Nettleton 6 Batesville 18, W. Memphis 0 Batesville 7, W. Memphis 2 Greene Co. Tech 8, Paragould 0 Greene Co. Tech 4, Paragould 0 5A EAST STANDINGS ON MARCH 29 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD (Top 4 make playoffs at Marion) Batesville 4-0 Greene Co. Tech 4-0 Valley View 4-0 Marion 2-2 Searcy 2-2 Nettleton 0-4 Paragould 0-4 W. Memphis 0-4