Marion softball team trying to take next step

           Marion – The Marion High School softball team came tantalizingly – perhaps the better word is agonizingly – close to playing for the AA state championship last season.

           The Swamp Foxes were undefeated heading into the championship round of the lower state tournament with Chesterfield having to beat them twice. Unfortunately for MHS, that’s what the Rams did as they went on to win the state championship as well.

           “This was a goal that had not been reached in some time,” said Marion head coach Kenosha Hyman, whose team was 19-5 last season.

           The Swamp Foxes return everyone from that team except for the lone senior, centerfielder Saniyah Howard. They were off to a 9-0 overall start and a 4-0 start in Region 8. Hyman believes another deep run is possible.

           “My team is young and hungry,” she said. “We are definitely going to make some noise this year.”

           MHS knows how to get on base and knows what to do once it is on. It was batting .500 as a team and had 32 stolen bases in the early going.

           Freshman Amiya Waiters bats leadoff and is followed in the order by sophomore Ayoni Malloy. Senior Hailie Lebiedz, who has signed as a pitcher with Columbia College, bats third while sophomore Maliyah Williams bats fourth. The rest of the order is made up of junior JaShaya Page, senior Anna Grace Page, freshman Payten Sawyer, sophomore Sheteria Bethea and freshman Nevaeh Shaw.

           Other members of the team are freshman Kynnedi Jenkins, sophomores Kendall Romesburg and Kristin Shaw and junior Jaeda Horne.

           Ten of the 13 members of the roster were batting at least .364. Williams and Bethea both had a home run and a team high seven runs batted in. Waiters had scored nine runs and stolen five bases along with Kristen Shaw. JaShaya Page and Lebiedz both had four stolen bases.

           The left-handed pitching Lebiedz had a tremendous junior season. She went 9-1 with a 2.87 earned run average and 96 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings pitched. She started 3-0 this year with a 0.58 ERA.

           MARION BASEBALL RETURNS ENTIRE TEAM

           Though not as successful, the Marion baseball team returns everyone from a squad that went 8-16 overall but finished second in the region and went 1-2 in its district tournament.

           The Swamp Foxes were off to a 6-7 overall start and were 4-0 in region play.

           Leading the way are senior 2-time Region Player of the Year and All-State performer KJ Hughes and junior All-State selection Jameir Legette.

           Legette had a .457 batting average while Hughes was batting .447.

           Those two are part of an infield that will include seniors Caden Hilbourne, Gabriel Cusack and Ya’Veon Brunson as well as freshman AJ Stanley, depending on who is pitching. Cusack is also seeing time in the outfield along with senior Jamorius Wilson, juniors LaQuintin Pratt-Lester and Tyrice Davis and freshman Rontae McClam.

           Senior Nathan Sawyer is the catcher.

           Wilson was batting .364, Brunson .500, Cusack .440, Sawyer .395, Hilbourne .286 and Pratt-Lester .231. Sawyer had team highs in doubles with five and runs batted in with 17. Legette had scored 19 runs. Hughes has 22 stolen bases, Legette 20, Brunson 18, Stanley 11 and Sawyer 10.

           “We have been swinging the bats well but have struggled getting the big hit in big situations,” said head coach Hal Lambert. “Hopefully we turned the corner Tuesday when we got two big hits in big situations, a game-tying 2-run HR by Brunson in the sixth inning and a walk-off single by Caden Hilbourne in the eighth.”

           As far as pitching goes, Lambert is trying to piece his staff together. “We have no true starters,” Lambert said. “It’s more of pitching by committee.”

           Marion does have three left-handers in Brunson, senior Jordan Wiggins and freshman Ni’Jel Smith. Hilbourne, Hughes, Legette, Sawyer, Davis and Pratt-Lester are the righty hurlers.

           . “Pitching has improved but is still not where we need to be,” Lambert said. “We need more strikes and need to learn how to stay focused and get those shut-down innings after we have put up some runs. “