Only the top four teams qualify for the Class 5A state tournament under the current Arkansas Activities Association structuring, so every conference contest carries an inordinate amount of weight. Marion and Nettleton split a 5A East doubleheader on Monday night at First National Bank of Eastern Arkansas Stadium, home of John Robbins Field, with the Raiders escaping with a 7-6 victory in the first game, while Marion responded with a 14-0, five-inning conquest in the nightcap. Marion (9-5 overall, 3-3 5A East) threatened twice to steal the opener from Nettleton (4-9, 1-5). The Patriots loaded the bases but scored just once in the bottom of the sixth, and Marion had the tying run on third base and the winning run on second with just one out in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one, but Nettleton closer Ford Raffo turned Marion away with a pair of strikeouts. The nightcap was all Marion as the Pats pulled away from the Raiders with a nine-run second inning in support of sophomore starting pitcher Carson Catt, who was one out away from a no-hitter in the 14-0 conquest. GAME ONE Nettleton 7, Marion 6 Marion struck first in the opener against Nettleton when shortstop Matthew Kearney reached on an error and scored on a Connor Taylor sacrifice fly. With the game knotted at 1 in the bottom of the second, Marion rallied back with a pair of runs when centerfielder Jett Sutton scored on a Taylor groundout. The Pats earned their third run when Cohen Bumbaugh drew a bases-loaded walk that delivered Slade Inman and the Marion lead was 3-1 after two frames. However, Nettleton struck for four runs in the third, and single tallies in the fourth and fifth innings to take a commanding 7-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth. Marion hit the comeback trail in the home half of the sixth when Inman and Daxton Davis walked with one out and Hunter McEwen reached on a hit-by-pitch. Following a strikeout, Davis York worked a walk after seeing 10 pitches to force Inman to the plate to make the tally 7-4, but Nettleton made a nice play in foul ground to snuff out the Marion rally. Parker Nash walked leading off the seventh, leading to a Landon Miller pinch-hit double, followed by Inman reaching on a hit-by-pitch, which gave Marion the sacks jacked with nobody away. With one out, Tyler Carey delivered a hit to right field that brought Nash and Miller to the dish, and when Carey moved up to second on the throw to the plate, Marion had a path to victory, with the winning run in scoring position with just one down. That's when Raffo slammed the door, striking out the final two Pats to clinch a dramatic Raider victory. Carey went 1-4 with two RBI in the first game, while Inman reached base and scored twice. Catt and Bumbaugh walked twice. GAME TWO Marion 14, Nettleton 0 (five innings) A new-look Marion lineup took the field for the second contest and the fresh faces produced 14 runs on 14 hits while walking five times. York started at third base and went 4-4 in the nightcap, producing three RBI and scoring a pair of runs. Carey went 2-3 and scored twice, and junior Dewayne Williams, Jr. finished 3-3 with three RBI, two runs, and a walk. Freshman Coleman Barnett started in right field and was 2-4 with three RBI and a run. The Marion defense did not commit an error behind Catt, who was in control from the word go. The sophomore retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth. The athletic Catt struck out seven Raiders, walking three and allowing a single hit. Marion scored first in the first when Kearney singled and scored on York's base hit, and the Pats buried the Raiders with a second-inning onslaught. Nash sparked a one-out rally when he walked ahead of Williams' single. Barnett delivered Nash with a base hit, and Kearney forced in Williams when the former was hit by a pitch for a 3-0 Marion lead. Miller walked to force in Barnett, and York delivered a two-run double after that for a six-run Marion bulge. McKewen, Williams, and Barnett drove in runs to cap the nine-run rally as Marion fashioned a 10-0 lead entering the bottom of the second. McKewen and Williams drove in York and Carey with singles in the third inning, and Barnett capped the scoring when he plated Williams with a double in the fifth. Catt had plenty left in the tank by the bottom of the fifth as he quickly dispatched the first two batters, and on a 2-1 count, Nettleton's Layton Casey hit a soft ground ball between third and shortstop that Kearney made a good stop and throw on, but Casey was able to leg it out for the Raiders' first hit of the game. Catt slammed the door by striking out the final Nettleton batter to clinch victory. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion may not play again until Tuesday, April 11 when the Patriots host Paragould at First National Bank of Eastern Arkansas Stadium. The first pitch of that 5A East doubleheader is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM APRIL 3 Nettleton 7, Marion 6 Marion 14, Nettleton 0 (five innings) Greene County Tech 10, W. Memphis 0 Greene County Tech 19, W. Memphis 0 Searcy 11, Paragould 1 Searcy 9, Paragould 1 Valley View at Batesville doubleheader scheduled for April 4 5A EAST STANDINGS AS OF APRIL 4 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD (Top 4 teams make state playoffs at Marion) Greene County Tech 6-0 Batesville 4-0 Valley View 4-0 Searcy 4-2 Marion 3-3 Nettleton 1-5 Paragould 0-6 W. Memphis 0-6