The Marion varsity baseball team will host the District 8 championship game after defeating Timberland 6-1 Thursday at Fox Field, then following up with a 7-3 victory over Pelion.
The Swamp Foxes are winners of their first region championship since 1996, after posting a 9-1 record in region 8 Class 2A.
“The past few years we’ve been worried about getting into the playoffs and now we’re going for a championship,” senior infielder and pitcher Russ White said. Senior catcher Martin Gasque said the goal was set before the season even started. “We knew we had the team to win the region and everybody was able to do it,” Gasque said. Both players have four years of varsity experience, and said they can see the growth of the baseball program at Marion. “We’ve played together since we were 12 years old, and now everybody is pretty much still together. That’s what makes a team,” Gasque said.
Marion’s playoff opener got off to a hot start, as pitcher Ross White pitched six scoreless innings to begin the game.
Justin Elvis cranked out the team’s first hit of the day with a single in the bottom of the second inning. Marion’s bats continued to produce after White closed out the top of the third inning with back-to-back strikeouts. Second baseman Russ White got the Foxes on the board, driving in three runs off an inside the park homerun.
Centerfielder Sam Maddox provided the highlight of the game, throwing a blistering shot from the fence to the cutoff man, leading to a runner thrown out a third base trying to stretch out for the triple. Maddox followed with another defensive gem in the fifth inning, catching the baseball for an out, and picking a runner off at second base for the double play.
A bunt by Justin Brock brought home Elvis for another run scored, and then slugger Jonathan Elliott followed, going yard with a two-run homer, giving Marion a 6-0 advantage through six innings.
Saturday the Foxes played under the sun against Pelion and jumped out to a 4-2 advantage after three innings. Justin Gause pitched a complete game, also getting some pretty good run support from Elvis and Chase Lee. The highlight of the game came off a towering solo homerun from Brock to lead off the sixth inning, securing the game with the final run.
Head Coach Don Cribb said it’s been a longtime coming, but hard work and dedication has paid off, adding that White pitched great game in game one throwing for strikes. Both White and Gause have gone the distance, pitching complete games. Gause even went 3-for-3 at the plate against Pelion.
Playing at home is a welcomed experience for the Foxes and their fans. “That’s one of the benefits of winning a region championship. There is no place like home,” Cribb said.
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