NEWS

CHUCK LIVINGSTON
Marion Patriots Activities Network | 5/13/2024
Marion Patriots Activities Network | 5/13/2024
Photo Credit: Chuck Livingston
MARION BASEBALL FINISHES 20-9 IN 2024
HARRISON --- Marion's record through the years when scoring first has been pretty remarkable.
So when the Patriots broke through with a tally in the bottom of the second inning of last Thursday's first-round state tournament contest, many fans surely enjoyed a sigh of relief.
But Maumelle had other plans.
Rather than folding, the Hornets rallied for three runs in the third inning, one in the fourth, two in the sixth, and one more in the seventh to pull away for a 7-2 victory in the opening round of the 2024 Class 5A state baseball tournament at Equity Bank Complex in Harrison.
Maumelle (19-11 overall) used the victory as a springboard to the finals, following up the Marion victory with a quarterfinal conquest of Greenbrier, and a win over Lake Hamilton in the semifinals. The Hornets will play Valley View (31-2) at 7 p.m. on Friday night for the Class 5A title.
Marion caps its 2024 season with a sterling 20-9 record, including a 10-4 5A East mark that was good for a conference runner-up finish.
The Pats pounded out six hits against Maumelle's Peyton Lee, including two hits and a run from senior shortstop Matthew Kearney, as well as two hits from senior utility man and Arkansas-Little Rock signee Davis York. Freshman second baseman Myles Holt and junior Cohen Bumbaugh recorded Marion's other hits, while freshman Max Molloy walked and scored.
Lee earned the victory for Maumelle after striking out eight over five innings, walking two, and allowing just one earned run.
Bumbaugh was tagged with just his third loss of the season after striking out seven Hornets over four innings and allowing four runs (three earned).
Bumbaugh was sharp early on, retiring six of the first seven Hornets he faced in the first two innings, which set the stage for a Marion rally in the bottom of the second.
The uprising started when York singled, followed by a Molloy walk, giving Marion two runners aboard with nobody out.
A textbook Holt sacrifice bunt gave the Pats two runners in scoring positions, but a fielder's choice cut down York at the plate for the inning's second out.
That's when Bumbaugh bounced a base hit through the right side of the infield to deliver Molloy to the plate, and Marion a 1-0 lead.
But the Hornets wasted little time getting back into the game, accepting two walks to start the third inning, followed by a Lee single to load the bases with nobody out.
A pair of walks plated two Maumelle runs, but the Pats got a fielder's choice to cut down a run for the first out, followed by a strikeout of the following batter and Marion was just one out away from escaping the frame.
With the bases still loaded, a third Maumelle run scored on a throwing error, and the Hornets led 3-1 after two and a half.
Kearney cracked a triple leading off the bottom of the third, and he scored on a dropped pop-up to get the Pats within 3-2.
The Pats came up with baserunners in three of the final four innings but were unable to score from there.
Chuck Livingston
Marion Patriots Activities Network | 5/13/2024
Marion Patriots Activities Network | 5/13/2024