MORAN — What initially looked to be a romp turned into a hard fought, gutted out victory in the nightcap for Marmaton Valley over Yates Center Thursday.
Marmaton Valley used some hot hitting to take down Yates Center, 11-1 and 14-12. The MV Wildcats posted 21 hits through the pair of games.
Game one
Marmaton Valley scored four runs in the first inning and five runs in the second to take a commanding 9-0 lead. The Wildcats then poured on two more runs in the bottom of the third before the game was called after five innings in an 11-1 win.
Dylan Drake and Wyatt Ard each drove in a team-high three runs for Marmaton Valley while Ard picked up the only multi-hit performance in game one. Tyler Lord, Drake, Chase Smith, Brayden Lawson and Kason Becker each had one hit.
Ard was solid on the mound for Marmaton Valley, pitching five innings and allowing only one run on four hits. He also struck out seven Yates Center batters and walked one. YC’s Tristan Ballin lasted only 1.1 innings on the mound, serving up seven runs with five walks.
Jacob Meigs replaced Ballin on the hill and worked 2.2 frames, allowing four runs on four hits with three walks.
Game two
The second game of the doubleheader was a much more intriguing matchup.Marmaton Valley took an early eight-run lead only to see Yates Center tie the score two innings later. Both teams scratched for runs in the final innings of Marmaton Valley’s 14-12 win.
Yates Center scored three runs before Marmaton Valley plated 11 in the first inning.
Pitchers Chase Smith for Marmaton Valley and Emmit George for Yates Center had a rough time at it.
George was pulled after giving up seven runs in the first inning. Emmitt Brittain relieved George and gave up another seven runs in 4.1 innings of work. Jayston Rice then pitched the final 2.1 innings for Yates Center and didn’t allow any runs to score.
Ard knocked in a team-high five runs for Marmaton Valley while Drake drove in three runs. Dominic Smith picked up three hits while Lord, Drake and Ard each had two hits.
After Yates Center knotted the game up at 11 runs in the third inning, Marmaton Valley responded by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth and another run in the fifth. The only other Yates Center run came in the top of the fifth but it wasn’t enough in a 14-12 loss.
Marmaton Valley welcomes Oswego to town next Thursday at 4:30 p.m. while Yates Center hosts Eureka the same day at 4:30 p.m.
