Mar 20, 2025
photo by: Kim North
John Marshall’s Cain Martin dives headfirst for home plate during the fifth inning Wednesday against Parkersburg on Monarch Field in Glen Dale. Martin raced home from second with what turned out to be the winning run on a two-out RBI single by Jayden Astipalitis. The Monarchs rallied from an early 2-0 deficit for a 4-2 win in the mutual season opener.
GLEN DALE – You can’t win them all if you don’t win the first.
Although the chances aren’t likely that John Marshall is going to run the table during the 2025 high school baseball season, the Monarchs started the season on a bright spot Wednesday.
John Marshall erased an early 2-0 deficit with three runs – only one earned – in the fifth inning and turned in a pair of defensive gems in doubling up visiting Parkersburg, 4-2, on sun-soaked Monarch Field.
“We played very well defensively,” veteran John Marshall head coach Mark Cisar said. “Nice way to start the season with a win.
Things didn’t start well for John Marshall starting pitcher Tyler Clegg as he plunked the Big Reds’ leadoff hitter Peyton Davis with the season’s first pitch. Parker Woods followed with a full-count walk before the righthander recorded back-to-back outs. He then struck out the next batter swinging, but the ball got away and the bases were loaded. Jaxon Myers bounced a seeing-eye single up the middle as Davis and Woods scored. Clegg then fanned the next batter to end the inning.
He was in trouble again in the second, but he induced a pitcher’s best friend to snuff out the threat. With one out and the bases loaded following an error, a sacrifice and consecutive hit batters, Cisar made a trip to the mound. Whatever he told Clegg worked as he got a grounder to Kain Ankrom at second who flipped to shortstop Nathan Hughes, who in turn threw to Kayden Knapp to complete the inning-ending double play.
Clegg then retired the side in order in the third and fourth frames before departing in favor of Hughes, who earned the win with three shutout innings of relief. Clegg struck out four, walked one and hit three batters. Hughes fanned a pair and issued one free pass. Together, they combined on a three-hitter – all singles.
“We didn’t pitch well, especially early on but when Tyler settled down, he was effective,” Cisar noted. “His curveball was really working for him.”
Trailing 2-0 and having squandered opportunity after opportunity, John Marshall finally broke through against Parkersburg reliever Owen Slone in the fifth.
With one out, Mason Markonich singled sharply past the third baseman. Clegg’s tailor-made double play grounder to short was bobbled as both runners were safe. Cain Martin laid down a perfect bunt that was thrown wildly to first, allowing Markonich to score as Clegg stopped at third and Martin pulled into second. Ankrom lifted a sacrifice fly to center that plated Clegg with the tying run. Jayden Astipalitis hit a soft liner over the third baseman’s head as Martin raced home from second, sliding head first past the catcher while tagging the plate with the eventual winning tally.
The Big Reds threatened in the sixth when Myers singled through the left side of the John Marshall infield. The ball took one hop to left fielder Hayden Gaiser who let loose a laser that beat Logan Fling to the plate by a mile as Martin applied the tag. Hughes then struck out the next batter to end the inning.
“That’s the best throw he’s ever made. Honest to goodness,” Cisar allowed. “It wasn’t just a good throw, it was a big throw. You can’t ask for anything better than that.”
The Monarchs added an insurance marker in the bottom of the sixth when Gaiser doubleda to the gap in left-center leading off. He would cross the plate on a two-out error.
With a runner on first and one out in the Big Reds’ seventh, Davis ripped a shot down the line at third that was backhanded by Markonich. He threw a strike to first for the second out. An infield popup ended the game.
“That was a stab,” Cisar said. “If that ball gets down the line, who knows. That guy on first might have scored or at least they would have had runners on second and third.”
If there was one area that Cisar wasn’t happy with, it was looking at third strikes.
“We have to improve our approach at the plate with two strikes. We took too many third-strike pitches,” Cisar stressed. “But, then again, we haven’t seen much live pitching yet except for intrasquad games, and you basically know what pitches are coming then.”
Gaiser added a single to his double. Astipalitis and Markonich also had a pair of safeties.
John Marshall travels to Weir on Saturday.
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