MORAN — Marmaton Valley High’s baseball team dropped a pair of home games Tuesday to wrap up the regular season, falling 19-11 and 15-3 to visiting Jayhawk-Linn.
The losses put the Wildcats at 6-12 as the Class 2-1A postseason playoffs await.
The Jayhawks jumped out quickly in the opener, leading 5-0 after half an inning, but Marmaton Valley didn’t go quietly.
Dylan Drake and Chase Smith each had singles in a two-run MV first. Dominic singled and scored in the second, and Drake and Daniel Fewins each singled in a two-run third to pull the Wildcats to within 8-5.
Jayhawk-Linn broke the game open with a four-run fourth and pushed its lead to 14-5 after 4½ innings.
Again, the Wildcats responded.
Chase Smith and Fewins sandwiched singles around a Wyatt Ard walk to kickstart MV’s fifth. A walk to Kolby Knavel, a Quincy Adams hit-by-pitch and a Carter Burton single keyed a six-run Wildcat rally to pull to within 14-11.
But the Jayhawks ended with a kick, scoring twice in the six and four more in the seventh to seal the win.
Fewins, Drake and Chase Smith all singled twice, Dominic Smith, Adams and Burton all had singles.
RUNS were harder to come by in the nightcap for the Wildcat hosts. Burton and Drake singled for a run with a two-out rally in the first. Drake, Chase Smith and Dominic Smith had singles in a two-run Wildcat fourth to push ahead, 3-2.
But the Jayhawks retook a 4-3 lead in the fifth, tacked on a sixth-inning insurance run, and then erased any sort of drama with a 10-run seventh.
Burton paced the Wildcat offense with three singles and a run. Drake and Dominic Smith each singled twice. Chase Smith had a single as well.
