Marion Athletics -

What a difference two weeks can make, especially in Arkansas high school softball.

Just ask Drake Rowton and his Marion Patriots.

Rowton's 2026 outfit struggled in a 5A East doubleheader sweep 14 days prior at Searcy, but his Patriots seemed to have all the answers on Tuesday night, winning a pair of 5A East games from Valley View at AR Construction Stadium by scores of 8-6 and 16-10.

"The biggest thing I can say about this is that my kids took coaching extremely well," said Rowton, who's in his fourth year as Marion's head softball coach. "I think the Searcy series was a wake-up call for all of us, but this team responded in exactly the way that you'd want a bunch of competitors to respond. I could not be prouder because we put in the time to get better, and it showed tonight."

Rowton's troops showed out in particular at the bat, scoring multiple runs in three innings to account for their scoring in the first contest, and Marion (7-5 overall, 2-2 5A East) scored at least one run in every inning to turn the Blazers away in the nightcap.

"The biggest thing for us today was that we removed the word 'perfect' from our vocabulary," said Rowton. "We got back to basics, put the barrel on the ball, and let's go to work, and everyone did that tonight."

Marion started the scoring in the bottom of the second in the lid-lifter when senior Kendall Eppes and sophomore Madelyn Hamrick led off with walks, followed by a Kaitlyn Austin sac bunt that gave the Pats two runners in scoring position with just one out.

Freshman Hailey Bateman delivered the game's first run with a sac fly, followed by a Sophie Moore base hit that plated Hamrick to give Marion a 2-0 lead after two.

Junior Florida Atlantic commit and two-time all-state performer Kayson McClain led off the home half of the third with a double and scored on Kynlee Shaull's hit, but the Blazers stranded the bases loaded by getting the last two batters in order to vanquish the threat.
Marion was back at it in the fourth when Moore and Kolbie Triplett led the frame off with singles, and Presley Kuhn chased both in with a double before she came down on a McClain two-bagger.

Shaull delivered McClain with a sac fly to give the Pats an 8-1 lead.

Shaull earned the victory in the first game by throwing all seven innings and allowing just three earned runs.

The 15-minute break between contests did little to slow down the Marion attack, as the first five Patriots reached in the bottom of the first.

That uprising began with singles from Triplett and Kuhn, and a McClain walk, followed by a two-run Shaull double to give the hosts a 2-0 advantage four batters into the game.

Eppes delivered McClain with a hit, and an Austin bunt delivered Shaull to give Marion a 4-0 cushion after an inning.

But the Blazers would not go quietly into that good night as Valley View got even in the top of the second.

Triplett led off the second inning with a double to left field, and she came down on a Kuhn sac fly to push the Pats back in front 5-4.

A McClain single preceded a Shaull double, and Eppes plated both with a hit for a 7-4 Marion lead to open the third.

Inside the circle, McClain navigated a scoreless third, and she would earn the victory after spinning 4 strong innings and allowing just 3 earned runs.

Marion pushed the lead to 9-4 on RBI singles from Ashlynn Howard and Kuhn in the home half of the third.

Marion got one back in the bottom of the fourth when Eppes delivered Shaull with a hit, and the Patriots scored 4 times in the fifth and 2 more times in the sixth to come up with enough cushion to close out.

Shaull relieved McClain in the fifth inning to earn the save in the nightcap after picking up the victory inside the circle in the first game.

"I was impressed with how we competed tonight against a quality team," said Rowton. "We did a little bit of everything. We definitely drove the ball better than we have been, but we laid some bunts down, we stole some bags, and the defense is coming around. I thought we pitched it well. It was just a game that we badly needed, and I'm glad we saw it.”

5A EAST RESULTS FROM 3/31
Marion 8, Valley View 6
Marion 16, Valley View 10

Searcy 5, Nettleton 1
Searcy 20, Nettleton 5

Greene Co. Tech 11, Paragould 1
Greene Co. Tech 17, Paragould 2

Batesville 13, W. Memphis 12
Batesville 13, W. Memphis 3

5A EAST STANDINGS ON 4/1
SCHOOL CONF. RECORD
Searcy 4-0
Greene Co. Tech 4-0
Marion 2-2
Batesville 2-2
Valley View 2-2
Paragould 2-2
Nettleton 0-4
W. Memphis 0-4
The top four teams make the state tournament May 14-16 at Greene Co. Tech.

5A EAST SERIES ON 4/7
Marion at Nettleton
Greene Co. Tech at W. Memphis
Batesville at Valley View
Paragould at Searcy