The Marshall County Tigers had to do some extra work, but managed to complete the season sweep of District 12-AA rival Page on Monday night by defeating the Patriots 10-6 on the road in 10 innings.

Having beaten Page 7-3 three days earlier, the Tigers (15-6, 11-3 District) held a 6-0 lead through the first three and a half innings of play, but the Patriots (15-7-1, 10-6 District) came storming back and tallied six runs over the next three frames to tie the game at 6-6.

After both teams came up empty over the next three innings, Marshall County exploded for four runs in the top of the 10th to grab a 10-6 advantage before holding Page scoreless in the bottom half of the frame to escape with the win.

Late hits help

Aided by their late offensive outburst, the Tigers finished with 12 hits and seven walks against two Patriot pitchers to go along with three Page errors.

Marshall County starting hurler Dylan McKnight did plenty of damage with his bat and went 4-for-5 with a walk and 2 RBI. Grayson Wiles also added three hits and 2 RBI, while Aaron Hobbs notched two hits and a RBI. Hayden Bailey (1 RBI), Ryan McDaniel (1 RBI), and Bubba Houghton each had one hit for MCHS as well.

Tiger relief pitcher Matt Sharp picked up the victory on the mound and recorded six strikeouts in four and two-third scoreless innings of work while allowing just two hits and three walks. McKnight had to settle for the no decision after yielding six runs over five and a third innings on six hits and two walks to go along with seven strikeouts.

Jack Jones paced the Patriots at the plate by going 3-for-5 with a double and 3 RBI, while Gage Downey (1 RBI), Tyler Cathey (1 RBI), Cole Thiede, Caleb Green, and Taylor Wallace all had one hit.

Page relief pitcher Patrick Hood suffered the loss and allowed four runs in one inning on four hits and a walk. Patriot starting hurler Trey Moyer emptied his tank and racked up nine strikeouts over nine innings while giving up six runs on eight hits and six walks.

Second-inning score

The Tigers stranded a runner in scoring position in the first inning, but notched a run in the top of the second to take a 1-0 lead. Following a one-out walk by Ryan Richardson, Houghton hit into a fielder's choice to replace Richardson on the base pats. Houghton then advanced to second on a hit batsman before scoring on a RBI single by Wiles.

In the top of the second, Marshall County opened up a 4-0 advantage by pushing across three runs in the frame on the strength of a McKnight single, a pair of RBI singles by Bailey and McDaniel, two walks, and a Chandler Harmon sacrifice fly.

MCHS continued to pad their lead in the fourth and plated two runs in the inning with the help of a leadoff single by Hobbs, a Sharp walk, a RBI single by McKnight, and a Page throwing error to make it 6-0.

The Patriots began to chip away at the deficit in the bottom of the fourth and narrowed the gap to 6-2 thanks to a couple of RBI singles by Downey and Cathey.

Page catches up

After slicing the deficit to 6-5 in the fifth inning behind a three-run double by Jones, Page knotted the contest at 6-6 in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI groundout by Colin Rhodes.

The Patriots then had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the seventh after loading the bases with one out on a Jones single and a pair of walks, but Sharp struck out the next two Page batters to send the game into extra innings.

Neither team mounted an another scoring threat until the top of the 10th inning when the Tigers crossed home plate four times in the frame thanks to leadoff double by Houghton, a Wiles RBI single, a RBI triple by Hobbs, a Sharp walk, a passed ball, and a RBI single by McKnight to forge a 10-6 lead.

Sharp then retired Patriots in order in the bottom of the 10th to secure Marshall County's 15th win of the season.