Marion settles for split at home baseball tournament

MARION – Even good teams have tough days.

Marion Coach Steve Fish is confident his players learned a lesson in their latest performance.

“Something we stress are the three P’s — pitch, position and play,” Fish said. “You have to be locked in when you step between the lines.”

Davenport Central handed Class 3A top-ranked Marion an 18-7 upset in six innings in the last game of the Jackson-Heald Classic on Saturday at Marion. The Indians did open the day with a 14-7 victory over West Branch.

“We’re 17-3 at the halfway point,” Fish said. “If you told me that on a Saturday, I’d probably be pretty happy with that, but not the way we played there.”

Marion suffered through some sloppy play, including three errors after four batters and five overall. Central tacked on four runs in the first. The Blue Devils also scored four in the fourth and the sixth, plating multiple runs each inning.

“You don’t field the first couple baseballs and the next you know you’re down 4-0,” Fish said. “Then, they were taking advantage of us.”

Marion managed one run in the second and third innings. The Indians were down 12-2 when they sent nine batters to the plate in the five-run fourth.

Cael Hodges and Kaden Frommelt each had two-run singles that sandwiched a run-scoring single by Myles Davis.

Davis remained one of the bright spots. He entered the day with a scorching hot .550 batting average and .588 on-base percentage. Davis added three singles, giving him 29, which leads the entire state. He also had a triple in the first game Saturday.

“He takes what the pitchers are giving him,” Fish said. “He is a really good high school hitter. Right now, he’s been one of the few guys, I think, who truly understands how to have a good approach.”

Marion is playing without one of its top players. All-stater and Florida International signee Owen Puk is out temporarily to an undisclosed injury. The team is having to make up for a key missing piece.

“Owen is a nice player,” Fish said. “He means a lot to us. We have to move some people around, but it’s not about one guy.”

Even the first game against the Bears wasn’t clean but the Indians found a way to win. Seth Blackford threw a three-hitter and struck out seven for Marion. All-stater Gage Franck, Jake Trca and Lucas Unsen had two hits apiece.