By Allen VanNess
With a solid pitching performance from junior Eric Nunn and a clutch hit from senior first baseman Bo Atkison, the Marshfield Blue Jays earned a hard-fought win with a 3-2 victory over the Hollister Tigers on Thursday evening.
Even with Hollister starting pitcher Landon Farquhar pitching a solid performance, Nunn matched him pitch for pitch, keeping the Tigers caged just enough to give his team an opportunity to pull out the much needed victory.
“He was outstanding,” first year Marshfield head coach Tyler Henry said of his starting pitcher. “It’s hard to overstate how good Eric Nunn was tonight. It was an outstanding effort that gave us a chance to stay in the game, settle down and make adjustments offensively to scratch out a few runs to get the victory.”
After seeing Farquhar pitch a nearly perfect four innings, the Blue Jays finally got on the board in their half of the fifth inning.
Getting two quick outs, junior Nicholas Visconte beat out an infield single to the Hollister shortstop. A stolen base later and Nunn would help his own cause with a double off the Tigers’ left fielder’s glove to score Visconte and give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.
The slim lead would not last, however, as the Tigers would roar back in the top of the sixth inning.
With one out in the inning, Hollister sophomore Logan Armitage hit a harmless single to right field, but the Blue Jays nearly beat themselves.
After an error by Nunn on a pickoff attempt of Armitage that got him to second base, Armitage appeared to get caught in a rundown between second and third base on the next play.
The Blue Jays, however, would earn their second error in as many plays, setting the stage for the Tigers with two runners in scoring position.
Taking the out at first base on a groundball to Marshfield third baseman Brooks Espy, Marshfield took the sure out and conceded the run, allowing the Tigers to tie up the game.
Jenner Steele would then hit a two-out, RBI rocket between the center and right fielders to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
Much like Marshfield’s first lead of the game, Hollister’s lead would not last either.
Visconte led off the sixth inning with a single, and senior Kellen Maxwell followed up the single with a long double off the right field fence giving the Blue Jays runners in scoring position.
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Enter Bo Atkison.
Needing a deep fly to at least tie the game, Atkison did much more as he lined a two-run single up the middle scoring both Visconte and Maxwell giving the Blue Jays another one-run lead, 3-2.
“It was an 0-2 count, and I was looking for a curveball outside,” said Atkison. “I got the curveball, and it wasn’t very far outside. I made an adjustment and put it up the middle. I was just looking to put it in play and give my teammates an opportunity to score.”
It would be all the scoring Marshfield needed, as they ended the game with a flawless 1-6-3 double play.
“Eric [Nunn] is a solid pitcher, but it helps having two or three at-bats against the guy, and we just made the adjustments,” Henry said. “I want to believe our guys made conscious adjustments and then we were able to square a few up.”
Even with a tough loss in their last outing, the Blue Jays showed their coach they have the mental toughness it takes to be a successful team.
“We have some resiliency,” said Henry. “We had a really rough day at Bolivar on Tuesday, and it is a credit to our kids for overcoming that. They made a conscious decision to come out with an attitude and a decision to compete, and it made a difference.”
With the win, Marshfield snapped its two game losing streak to improve to 6-7, while the Tigers fall to 8-6 on the season.
Hollister 2, Hollister 3
Hollister 000 000 20—2
Marshfield 000 001 2-—3
