The Marshall County 10-year old All-Star softball team moved within one win of advancing to the Little League State tournament after defeating Giles County 12-5 at Richland Park in the first game of a best-of-three-series on Friday night in the District tourney.

Giles County jumped out a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Marshall County controlled the game from that point on and outscored the tourney hosts 12-1 the rest of the way to take home the victory.

Bolstered by a pair of four-run innings, Marshall County finished with seven hits and nine walks against three Giles County hurlers.

Strong game

Leadoff hitter Naomi Hopper helped set the table for Marshall County's offensive attack by going 2-for-2 with two walks, 1 RBI, and four runs scored. Hannah Davis also had a big day at the plate for Marshall County and went 2-for-4 with a double and 5 RBI, while McKenzie Walls (1 RBI), Mallorie Wooten, and McKinley Richardson each had one hit.

Marshall County starting pitcher Journey Mitchell went the distance in the circle to earn the win and piled up 10 strikeouts in six innings of work while allowing five hits and four walks.

Abby Sauls and starting hurler Hanna Hill notched two hits apiece to pace Giles County at the plate.

Things looked bleak for Marshall County at the start of the contest, as Giles County pushed across four runs in the top of the first inning on two hits, two walks, and two errors to take a 4-0 lead.

Marshall County trimmed the deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the first inning when Hopper scored on a RBI groundout by Walls after leading off the frame with a single and advancing to third on an error and a passed ball.

Four-run inning

After Giles County stranded a runner in scoring position in the top of the second, Marshall County plated four runs in the bottom half of the frame on the strength of a Jessica Lancaster walk, a bloop single by Richardson, two errors, a Hopper RBI single, a infield single by Wooten, and a Davis RBI fielder's choice to pull ahead 5-4.

Giles County scored a run in the top of the third with the help of a leadoff single by Sauls and an error to tie the game at 5-5, but Marshall County tallied three runs in the bottom of the fourth thanks to three walks, a RBI single by Davis, and an error to seize an 8-5 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, Marshall County put the game out of reach by crossing home plate four times in the frame behind five walks, a bunt single by Garrett, a Davis three-run double, and a double by Walls to forge a 12-5 advantage.

Mitchell then worked around a leadoff single by Erin Abernathy in the top of the sixth to close out the win for Marshall County.