MARION -- Although the South Seven title was out of reach, the Marion High School baseball team finished conference play in style with a 7-1 win over Centralia on Tuesday at the Crisp Sports Complex.
Marion improved to 18-6 overall and finished 7-3 in the South Seven.
Centralia scored quickly as the game's first batter singled to start a string of four straight hits, but then Marion starter Christian Burgrabe fanned three straight betters to strand the bases loaded and the Orphans didn't score again.
Burgrabe finished with seven strikeouts. Lucas Johnson pitched the final 1-1/3 innings and struck out two.
Marion tied it in the second inning after Noah Mofield singled and then Centralia committed a pair of errors.
Then in the third, Ryan Trokey, Cavan Cameron and Mofield had consecutive hits to start a three-run rally capped by a two-run hit by Burgrabe.
In the fourth, Jake Welch ripped a triple and scored on a double from Trokey, then Mofield collected his third hit and Burgrabe poked an RBI single to make it 7-1.
Burgrabe finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Mofield was 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored. Trokey had two hits and an RBI and Welch also had two hits in the win.
The Wildcats have Senior Day festivities scheduled for Saturday with Salem coming to Marion for a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.
Marion then plays either Centralia or Salem in the Centralia 3A Regional semifinals on Wednesday, May 22, with Mt. Vernon facing Olney Richland County in the other semifinal game.
