Shelbyville Post 23 sweeps Marshall County

Having lost 4-0 in the opening game of a doubleheader earlier in the evening, the Marshall County Dusters (16-6-1) were shutout for the second straight game by Shelbyville Post 23, as they were defeated 8-0 in four innings on Monday in the nightcap.

After tallying just five hits in the previous contest, the Dusters were unable to break out of their offensive funk and notched just four singles and a walk against Shelbyville starting pitcher Austin Williams and reliever Kyler Reynolds. Bubba Houghton, Aaron Thomason, Brandon Bush, and Grayson Wiles each had one hit for Marshall County, while Ryan McDaniel drew a walk.

Williams picked up the victory on the mound, yielding just two hits and a walk in three scoreless innings of work.

Bolstered by a six-run third inning, Post 23 finished with eight hits and two walks against three Duster hurlers. Catcher Heath Sain recorded his second multi-hit game of the night by going 2-for-2 with a double, 1 RBI, and a run scored. Trent Layman, Parker Gunn, Logan Pierce, Chris Kleeman, J.D. Parker, and Colton Gunn tallied one hit apiece as well for Shelbyville with Pierce and Kleeman driving in two and one run respectively.

Marshall County starting pitcher Matt Sharp suffered the loss, allowing two runs on four hits over two innings. Aaron Hobbs then came on in relief of Sharp and gave up six runs, four earned, in two-thirds of an inning on four hits and two walks.

The Dusters had a chance to get on the board in the top of the first inning after Thomason and Bush both singled to put runners on first and second with two outs, but Williams retired the next Marshall County batter on a fielder's choice to snuff out the threat.

Post 23 grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the first when Layman raced home on a RBI single by Sain after leading off the inning with an infield single and advancing to second on a Parker Gunn sacrifice bunt.

In the second inning, Shelbyville cashed in on some Duster miscues and plated another run with the help of a single by Parker, a wild pitch, and a Marshall County throwing error to make it 2-0.

The floodgates then opened up in the bottom of the third, as Post 23 crossed home plate six times in the frame on the strength of a Parker Gunn single, a Sain double, a RBI single by Kleeman, a double steal, two walks, a Pierce two-run single, and a Duster error to forge an 8-0 advantage.

Marshall County tried to spoil the shutout in the top of the fourth and put runners on first and second with two outs thanks to a pair of singles by Houghton and Wiles, but Reynolds kept the mercy rule in effect by striking out the next Duster hitter to end the game.