Marion County’s heavy hitters, No. 3 Bryson Helm and No. 4 Trey Hill, were a combined 1-for-5 with two walks entering the top of the seventh inning Thursday at Chattanooga Christian.
With the game tied at 8 and two outs, Helm and Hill delivered, lifting Marion County to a 12-8 victory. Helm stroked a two-run single and Hill unloaded a long home run to right center as the Warriors improved to 12-7.
“The two-out hits were big in the seventh, and that’s what we have to have if we’re going to do much in the postseason,” Marion coach Steven Roberts said.
CCS (5-14) provided an unexpected test that Roberts had sought elsewhere.
“We have either gotten way out (in front) on people and won or gotten way out and let them back into the game,” he said.
The scrappy but mostly inexperienced Chargers touched Warriors pitcher Cody Thacker for three first-inning runs. After Marion sliced the lead to a run in the top of the second, the Chargers scored two more to take a 5-2 advantage.
“It was back and forth,” Roberts said. “They got the lead. We got it and then they got it back. We took the lead again, and they tied it in the bottom of the seventh. They have the best group of first-five hitters I have seen this year.”
Those first five scored all eight of the Chargers’ runs and contributed 11 of the team’s 12 hits. That included four hits from freshman center fielder and No. 2 batter Lance Carter. The smallest player on the field, Carter had a bunt single, a double, another single and a home run. He finished with three runs scored and two RBIs.
Leadoff man Chase Caldwell went 3-for-4 with two doubles, No. 3 Clay Caldwell was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs and No. 4 John Mark Griggs homered in the fifth. No. 5 Phillip Fabry had a first-inning sacrifice fly. Alex Nicely, batting seventh, added two singles.
“We hit the ball,” CCS coach John Visser said. “We told the kids to just relax and take their swings, and they did that. We outhit Marion. They’re a good team, but I think (Roberts) has youth issues like a lot of us this year.”
Roberts, whose team dropped this season from District 6-AA to District 6-A, wasn’t taking anything away from the CCS effort but felt his outfielders were caught napping two or three times.
“We played a few of the balls they hit into hits. We weren’t paying attention,” he said.
That included baserunning. Two Marion runners, one at second and the other at third, were picked off by Chargers catcher Chase Caldwell. There were at least two occasions when trailing runners could have advanced but didn’t.
“I’m not happy with our baserunning. We’re still running stupid,” Roberts said.
On a positive note, he said, “We made some adjustments at the plate during the course of the game, and we battled throughout.”