Charleston holds off Kelly, 3-2

BENTON - The Charleston Bluejays baseball team picked up a huge win on Thursday afternoon by defeating the Kelly Hawks by a 3-2 score at Kelly High School.

The Bluejays built a 3-0 lead and held off a late Kelly rally to insure the win.

"They're in our district and that's a huge win for us with the district seeding," said Charleston head coach Chris Stanfield. "It's probably the biggest win we've had since I've been coach. With a program the quality of Kelly, this is a great win for us. It was a total team effort. I couldn't be more pleased with my group."

Charleston (3-3) hurler Marcus Dixon threw all seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) off three hits and three walks. He struck out eight.

"That's a very big day for him," said Stanfield of Dixon. "He's a senior and he needed to step up like this. He was able to pitch around two errors. It seemed like every time we kicked the ball behind him, he stepped up and made big pitches when he had to."

The Bluejays took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second when Josh Marshall and A.H. Marshall both scored on Travis McCann's two-out double.

Charleston led 3-0 in the top of the fourth when Josh Thompson, who doubled, scored off a Brink Naile triple.

"That's Josh's first time up this year," said Stanfield. "He took advantage of his opportunity. The first time up he looked pretty bad, but the second time up he looked a lot more comfortable. Brink, being just a freshman, he's hitting the ball well. He's got a five-game hitting streak and has hit in every game he's played in. They've been pleasant surprises."

Kelly (1-3) cut the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Caleb Daughtee brought home Jordan Felter with a base hit.

The Hawks picked up another run in the bottom of the sixth when Felter drove in Kent Deason.

But they couldn't get across another run.

Kelly's Kendal Deason took the loss in 4 1/3 innings pitched. He allowed seven hits and three runs. He struck out four and walked three.

Trey Simmons threw 2 2/3 innings of relief, allowing no runs and no hits. He struck out two and walked one.

Charleston's Stephen Hicks, Josh Marshall, A.H. Marshall, McCann, Matt Jackson, Thompson and Naile each had one hit.

Felter led Kelly with two hits. Daughtee had one hit.

Charleston will host Egyptian (Ill.) on Monday at 4 p.m. They will host East Prairie on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in a rematch of an earlier game this season.