The Marshall High School Baseball team kept its season alive with a 3-2 victory over the Hallsville Indians in the quarterfinals of the Class 4 District 8 tournament Monday, May 18. The pitcher’s duel lasted 12 innings, and ended when Indians reliever Colby Pemberton balked, scoring the winning run for the Owls.
The Owls struck first in the bottom of the first inning, with Chase Thompson scoring on an RBI single from Ayson Bolling. Kye Wilcoxson held the Hallsville bats in check until the sixth inning, where the Indians knotted things with a sacrifice fly from Pemberton.
Neither team was able to score again until the tenth inning, when Hallsville took a 2-1 lead courtesy of an RBI single from Kaleb Schultz. The Owls manufactured a run in the bottom of the inning with Thompson reaching on a lead-off single, moving to second on a bunt, stealing third base, then coming home on a sac-fly from Bolling to tie the game.
The Owls wouldn’t threaten again until the 12th, when Emmitt Verts singled to lead off the inning. O’Bryan came in to pinch-run for Verts and advanced to second following an intentional walk to Thompson. O’Bryan then moved to third after Brock Marshall reached on a fielder’s choice and avoided a 6-4-3 double play. With two outs and runners at the corners, Marshall took off from first early, distracting Pemberton and causing him to balk home the winning run.
Both starting pitchers were brilliant, with Wilcoxson allowing just a run on five hits in nine innings of work. He pitched into the tenth before being lifted for Marshall, who picked up the win by tossing three innings with four strikeouts. Hallsville starter Landon Cunningham went eight innings, allowing a run on seven hits with six punchouts. Pemberton took the loss, allowing two runs in 3.2 innings.
The Owls improve to 13-13 on the season and will now face Moberly in the district semifinals at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Southern Boone High School. The Owls have faced Moberly twice already this season, falling to the Spartans 10-5 on April 30 and 6-0 on May 12.