MORAN — An early rally in the opener and a late rally in the nightcap made for a tough day on the diamond for Marmaton Valley baseball.
The Wildcats dropped a pair to visiting Northeast-Arma, 11-7 and 5-4.
The Vikings scored twice in the top of the seventh to take a 5-3 lead in the nightcap.
Marmaton Valley didn’t go quietly. Dylan Drake singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh and final inning. He came around to score on a fielding error. Dominic Smith singled with two outs to put runners on first and second, but a ground ball ended the game.
Carter Burton led off the first with a single. He stole second and scored on a Wyatt Ard single to give MV a 1-0 lead.
But Northeast rallied for two in the second and pushed its lead to 3-1 in the third.
Drake singled with one out in the bottom of the fifth, stole second and came around to score on an error to make it 3-2.
Quincy Adams tied it in the sixth. He walked, stole second and third and scored on a fielding error by the Vikings.
But Marmaton Valley also left two runners on base in the third, sixth and seventh innings and stranded nine baserunners in total.
Drake went 3-for-4 to lead the Wildcat offense, Smith singled twice. Burton, Ard and Adams all had singles as well.
Burton, Adams, Dominic Smith and Chase Smith each pitched, allowing a combined five hits with 11 strikeouts and 11 walks.
Northeast took a 5-0 lead in the second inning of the opener before Marmaton Valley rallied for six in the third to take a 6-5 lead.
Chase Smith’s double made it 5-1 and Drake and Robert Cook followed with RBI singles to pull the Wildcats to within 5-4 with nobody out. Those two scored on a dropped third strike to give the Wildcats the lead.
It didn’t last long.
Three walks and an error put the Vikings back in front for good in the top of the fourth.
Marmaton Valley crept to within 9-7 after back-to-back errors preceded Burton’s RBI single.
Burton singled twice, Chase Smith, Dominic Smith, Drake and Cook all had singles.