Marquis saves day for Cary-Grove

With Cary-Grove senior Matt Nelsen struggling, Brian Marquis realized he had to excel on the mound.

The Trojans' senior reliever came through.

Throwing the final 1 2/3 innings, Marquis blanked defending Class 4A state champion Prairie Ridge on 2 hits as the Trojans held on for an 8-7 Fox Valley Conference crossover win at Cary Wednesday afternoon.

"We discovered Brian as a pitcher last summer," said Cary-Grove coach Don Sutherland. "He didn't pitch an inning for 3 years. But, he struck out 12 without a walk and we thought he could help us this spring. He is not a flame thrower, but he throws strikes and changes speed well."

Clinging to a 1-run lead, Marquis was summoned to the mound with one out in the sixth. After yielding a single to Jesse Shukas, Marquis retired Dan Rowe and Kevin Kaczmarski to get out of the inning.

In the seventh, Prairie Ridge (12-5) threatened with one out when Will Mack drilled a ball to right and Nolan Jacoby walked to put runners on first and second. Marquis retired Justin Henderson and Logan Olson to register his second save of the season.

"I just wanted to come in and throw strikes," said Marquis. "I was warming up throughout the game and was ready. My fastball and cutter were working well. I like my role as a reliever and I just want to help the team win."

Cary-Grove (11-5-1), which benefitted from 10 walks by pitchers Brett Loeding and Robinson Logue, scored first with 3 runs in the bottom of the second. The key hit was an RBI single from Luke Mottashed.

The Trojans added a run in the third on an infield ground out by Stuart Gaulke to take a 4-0 lead.

Nelsen (5-0), who blanked PR on 1 hit through 3 innings, ran into some trouble in the fourth. Henderson collected a 2-RBI double and Williams had a run-scoring single as the

Wolves scored 3 runs to slice the Cary-Grove lead to 4-3.

Cary-Grove extended its lead to 8-4 after 5 innings before the Wolves pounded Nelsen for 3 runs in the sixth. The big hit was a 2-run homer by Henderson to make the score 8-6. An RBI single by Williams pulled the Wolves within a run, but Prairie Ridge couldn't get any closer.

"The kids battled and we really hit the ball well." said Prairie Ridge coach David Haskins. "We made too many mistakes defensively and our pitchers walked way too many batters. But I am proud we were in the game until the final out."