Coming off a hard fought extra inning victory over Page the previous night, the Marshall County Tigers needed more late game heroics to beat archrival Giles County on Tuesday night, as they defeated the Bobcats 4-3 in eight innings at home.

Marshall County (16-6, 12-3 District) held a 2-0 lead through the first three innings of play, but Giles County (8-18, 8-7 District) struck for three runs in the top of the fourth to seize a 3-2 advantage.

Tight contest

After the Tigers tallied a run in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 3-3, the Bobcats left at least one runner in scoring position in three of the next four innings before MCHS pulled out the victory in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a bases loaded walk by Chandler Harmon..

"We survived tonight and had to get out of two or three jams late in the game. It was a heck of a ballgame," said Marshall County coach Steve Reese. "It's tough to get up emotionally two games in a row. We were coming off a tough game against Page, but we showed a lot of emotion tonight. We might have grown up some these last two games."

The Tigers mustered just four hits against Giles County starting pitcher Logan Phifer and reliever Carson Dickey, but drew eight walks to go along with one Bobcat error.

Ryan Richardson doubled to account for MCHS' lone extra base hit of the contest, while Aaron Hobbs (1 RBI), Bubba Houghton (1 RBI), and Zack Kirby all singled.

Winning pitcher

Tiger relief pitcher Ryan McDaniel picked up the win, as he yielded four hits and a walk in four scoreless innings of work. Marshall County starting hurler Hayden Bailey had to settle for the no decision after yielding three runs over four innings on three hits.

Rob McMasters notched two hits and 2 RBI to lead Giles County offensively, while Phifer (1 RBI), Andrew Morris, William McRae, Sean Harmond, and Josh Rogers added one hit apiece.

Phifer was the tough luck loser on the mound and yielded three runs in seven plus innings of work on four hits and six walks. Dickey walked the only two batters he faced after coming on in relief of Phifer.

Marshall County left a runner in scoring position in the first inning, but broke through for two runs in the bottom of the second to grab a 2-0 lead. Following a leadoff walk by McDaniel, Kirby singled to put runners on first and second with one out. Houghton then plated McDaniel with a RBI single, before courtesy runner Connor Bush raced home on a two-out RBI single by Hobbs.

Bobcats rally

The Bobcats eventually got their bats going in the top of the fourth and crossed home plate three times in the frame thanks to a couple of infield singles by Morris and McRae, a two-run triple by McMasters, and a Phifer RBI groundout to pull ahead 3-2.

Giles County's lead would be short lived, as the Tigers tallied a run in the bottom of the fourth to knot the game at 3-3. Richardson smashed a double to deep left field to lead off the inning before Kirby drew a walk. Pinch runner Brooks Leftwich then advanced to third on a fly out by Houghton prior to sprinting home on a passed ball.

In the top of the sixth, the Bobcats loaded the bases with two outs on a pair of singles by Phifer and Harmond and a walk by Clayton McAlister, but McDaniel retired Trey Garrett on a fly out to snuff out the threat.

Giles County then stranded a runner at second in the top of the seventh, before McDaniel worked around a leadoff double by McMasters in the eighth inning.

Those missed opportunities would eventually come back to haunt the Bobcats in the bottom of the eighth. Bailey drew a leadoff walk to get things started for Marshall County before advancing to third on a Giles County throwing error while McDaniel reached second base on the play. After Dickey intentionally walked Richardson to load the bases with no outs, Harmon drew another free pass to give the Tigers the 4-3 victory.