Marsh Spins Three-Hit Gem for Lions over Sturgis East

St. John Paul II senior righty Kevin Marsh notched his first win of the season Wednesday at McKeon Park over the Sturgis East Storm.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports Photos

HYANNIS – Senior righty Kevin Marsh brought his A-game Wednesday afternoon to McKeon Park, tossing a complete-game three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts as the St. John Paul II Lions downed the visiting Sturgis East Storm, 4-0.

Sturgis East southpaw ace Kyle Coolidge was equally on top of of his game, holding St. John Paul II to four hits through the fifth inning in a scoreless tie before the host Lions took advantage of three infield errors and loaded the bases for shortstop Matt Santos who belted a three-run double and what would prove to be the ultimate game-winner.

Coolidge went the distance and used just 69 pitches but took the hard-luck loss. He struck out three and walked none.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, pinch-hitter Jonny Warden reached on an error, followed by a basehit from Bobby Higgins (2-3) who was the sole player for both teams to finish with multiple hits on the day. Blake Waters (1-3) then reached on an error and Santos came up to rip a three-run double. Santos scored on yet another infield error on a grounder by Joe Oriola that made it 4-0.

“It was a dogfight all the way through,” said Sturgis East head coach John Havey. “It was a classic pitcher’s duel until the sixth when we committed five errors.”

The Cape & Islands League victory puts St. John Paul II at 3-0 on the season overall and in the league, while Sturgis East fell to 2-1. Both teams came into the game at the top of the Cape & Islands League standings at 2-0.

Sturgis East lefty Kyle Coolidge was equally effective against the host Lions through five scoreless innings.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports Photos

Joe Colesano, Matt Agostinelli and freshman pinch-hitter Andrew Williams had the only hits for The Storm, while Cooper Gavin reached safely with three walks.

Sturgis East hopes to regain its momentum when it hits the road today (April 16) to face the Cape Tech Crusaders. The unbeaten Lions (3-0) were slated to face Nantucket today but the game has been postponed.

— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm