— Rick Burres/Tribune-Courier || Marshall County team members celebrate with a "stack" after their first region 6-1 championship win over Graves County Thursday night.

Marshals win regional championship

First-rate pitching,
iron-clad defense
keep Marshals
alive until offense
catches fire


By Rick Burres
Tribune-Courier Sports Reporter
Rburres@tribunecourier.com


Marshall County won the 1st Region Baseball Championship Friday night defeating Graves County (22-9) 6-1 and setting a new school record for most wins in a season.

Big Orange is sitting on a 28-3 record going into semi-state play.

The Marshals opened the regional tournament Tuesday night against upset minded Paducah Tilghman (16-11), crushing Tilghman’s hopes of advancement with a 4-3 victory.

After dispatching Tilghman the Marshals turned their attention to St. Mary for Wednesday night’s action.

Although the Marshals are considered to have one of the best offenses in the region they had trouble, as they have throughout the tournament, with their bats, but managed to squeak by with a 1-0 victory and only two hits for the game.

MCHS’ Daniel Riley and Cody Forsythe won the game from the mound by combining hot pitching with the Marshals’ iron-curtain defense.

The game was delayed twice due to lighting.

Thursday night’s championship game was on orange control from the start.

Marshall County devoured Graves County 6-1 swinging bats that had apparently heated up overnight.

MCHS head coach Don Bock said batting practice might have made the difference.

“We took our batting practice at home instead of here at Graves,” Bock said.

“I think the guys were more comfortable after that.”

MCHS catcher Brantley Barrett hit a ball so hard mid-game that he destroyed an aluminum bat, splitting it open along its length.

Marshal’s second baseman Shane McKenty hit a single and once on first base began taunting the Graves County mound by taking a huge lead off the bag looking to steal second.

Graves County’s Andrew Shultz tried to pick McKenty off five times but failed.

Marshall County met Henderson County for game one of semi-state play Monday evening at 6 p.m. but the results were not available as of press time.