SEARCY --- Through four innings of Tuesday night's 5A East-opening doubleheader, Searcy had Marion exactly where they wanted them. The Lions led 1-0 with just nine outs left to record. Then Marion all-state shortstop Matthew Kearney delivered the biggest hit of the young season so far, and the Pats never looked back. Kearney cranked a two-run home run in the top of the fifth to give Marion its first lead of the night at 2-1, and the Patriots made it stand up by scoring all nine of its runs in the last three frames to pull away for a 9-3 victory. Marion (6-0 overall, 2-0 5A East) turned to junior right-hander Cohen Bumbaugh for the nightcap, when he carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, and he made 12 runs over the first two innings stand up as he struck out 14 Lions in five innings as Marion coasted to a 12-2 run-rule victory. The Pats scored all of their runs in a five-inning span bridging the end of the first game and the beginning of the second game. "I was proud of the guys tonight because we had to do some stuff to manufacture some stuff," said Marion coach Pete Prater. "Some of the things we preach in our program we had to go to tonight, moving runners, putting guys in motion, hit and runs, stuff like that, because let's face it, we aren't gonna come out most nights and get 10 hits. It's just the way it is. But we found other ways to win." Marion senior right-hander Davis York earned the win in the first game by working into the sixth inning, striking out nine batters, allowing just two hits, walking one, and was charged with three runs, though none were earned. York gave way to classmate Jack Carter in the sixth inning and fired 13 strikes in his 16 pitches to notch the save. Searcy shortstop Luis Arman reached on an error leading off the first inning of the game, and he scored on a York balk as the Lions struck first blood and led 1-0 after an inning. That bulge lasted until the top of the fifth inning when Marion senior catcher Landon Miller led off with a triple and scored two pitches later when Kearney blasted a home run to deep left field for a 2-1 lead. "It definitely changed our feeling in the dugout because as a coach you're always looking to do something to get it going a little bit," said Prater. "We all kinda relaxed a little bit after that hit." Marion picked up four unearned runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh, including a mammoth home run from junior Tyler Carey, as the Pats closed out Searcy in the lid-lifter. A 25-minute break between games did little to slow the Marion attack. Bumbaugh took the ball for the top of the first and struck out the side for the first of three times in the night before Marion took over in the bottom of the first. In the first, Marion turned five walks and three hits into seven runs, the big swing being a two-run single by Solomon Flores and a two-run double off the bat of Miller as the Pats claimed a 7-0 bulge after two innings. Marion scored five more times in the second on the back of three more walks and timely hits from York and Coleman Barnett as the Pats earned a 12-0 lead after two innings. Bumbaugh struck out the side in the third and fourth innings, but Searcy's Chase Tengler reached on an error leading off the inning before Bumbaugh surrendered a one-out single to Michael Lincoln for the Lions' first hit of the evening, and Tengler and Lincoln went on to score Searcy's only runs of the second game before Marion closed out the 10-run victory in five innings. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion will play in a tournament classic next week hosted by defending Class 5A state champion Little Rock Christian. The Patriots open their run at the classic with LR Christian at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 21 before turning their attention to Wagoner, Oklahoma at 3:45 the same day. Marion plays Raymore-Pecuilar at 3:45 on Friday, March 22 before ending its run later that night around 6 p.m. against Cabot. Marion returns home on Tuesday, March 26 for a 5A East doubleheader against the Valley View Blazers. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 3/12 Marion 9, Searcy 3 Marion 12, Searcy 2 (five innings) Valley View 13, W. Memphis 1 (five innings) Valley View 12, W. Memphis 0 (five innings) Greene Co. Tech 8, Nettleton 4 Greene Co. Tech 12, Nettleton 0 Batesville 14, Paragould 5 Batesville 3, Paragould 1 5A EAST STANDINGS ON 3/13 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD MARION 2-0 Valley View 2-0 Greene Co. Tech 2-0 Batesville 2-0 Searcy 0-2 Nettleton 0-2 Paragould 0-2 W. Memphis 0-2 5A EAST DOUBLEHEADERS FOR 3/26 Valley View at Marion Paragould at Greene Co. Tech W. Memphis at Batesville Nettleton at Searcy