Marion and Batesville have faced off in many classics through the years, but Tuesday afternoon's 5A East doubleheader at First National Bank of Eastern Arkansas Stadium may have taken the cake. Batesville stormed out to a 3-0 lead after an inning in the opener, but Marion rallied three times to tie the contest in the later innings before the Pioneers finally capped off a 7-5 victory in 10 innings. But the hosts were undeterred, as Marion scored four times in the first inning and four more times in the fourth to cruise to a 10-4 conquest in the nightcap. The dramatic doubleheader split clinched a state tournament berth for Marion with two conference games remaining on Tuesday, April 30 at Greene County Tech. The Pats have made seven consecutive postseason appearances dating to 2016. Pioneer first baseman Dexter Chapman went 2-3 in the first game with three RBI and two runs scored, while starting pitcher Mark Brissey scored twice as well. On the bump, Brissey worked seven strong innings, striking out seven Patriots, allowing five hits, and three earned runs with three walks. Marion junior righty Carson Catt took the ball for the Pats and went 8.2 innings, allowing five hits with five strikeouts and just two walks. Batesville jumped in the first inning of the initial game when Chapman poked a two-run double to left field to deliver Brissey and Cole Bentz for a 2-0 Pioneer lead in the first, and Chapman came around on a Kace Simpson groundout and Batesville led 3-0 after a half inning. For a while, it seemed like that's all Brissey would need as he cruised into the bottom of the fifth when Cohen Bumbaugh roped a two-out double to left and scored Marion's first run when shortstop Matthew Kearney recorded an RBI single to get the hosts within 3-1 after six frames. Landon Miller and Davis York led off the home half of the sixth with singles and following a Max Molloy sacrifice bunt, Catt drove in Parker Nash with a groundout as the Pats moved within 3-2 entering the seventh. But Batesville rallied up in the top of the seventh when Brecken Glasgow singled leading off the frame and scored on an Owen McLaughlin double to left-center to push the Pioneers ahead 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh. Marion's Solomon Flores drew a one-out walk and Kearney was hit by a pitch to spark a rally, one that resulted in a run when Trey Fleming bunted Flores in to get the hosts within 4-3. One batter later, Miller reached on an error that allowed Kearney to score as the game entered extra innings knotted at 4. The teams swapped runs in the ninth inning, and Batesville took the lead for good in the 10th when Brissey came up with a one-out double and scored on a Chapman double, and Chapman came across with an insurance run on an error for a 7-5 lead into the home half of the tenth. Batesville's Connor Cunningham threw two perfect innings to earn the victory in the opener. It was Marion with the fast start in the nightcap, opening the scoring thanks to some two-out magic in the top of the first, beginning when Miller was hit by a pitch, followed by a York base hit. Freshman outfielder Max Molloy plated both when he pulled a ball into left-center field that one-hopped the wall, giving his team a 2-0 lead as he wound up on third. Catt's double in the next at-bat delivered Molloy, and Myles Holt's first hit gave the Pats a 4-0 lead after a half-inning. That tally held until the fourth when Holt sparked a rally by leading off with a single, followed by a Solomon Flores walk, and when Kearney was hit by a pitch, the Pats had loaded the bases with just one away. A Fleming hit scored Holt, and Flores came down on an error for a 6-0 Marion bulge. Kearney scored on a wild pitch, and York chased in Fleming with a groundout for an 8-0 lead. The first three Pioneers reached in the bottom of the fourth as Bentz walked and scored on Chapman's double, and when Simpson grounded out Batesville was within 8-2, which was the score entering the fifth. Junior right-hander Cohen Bumbaugh earned the victory for Marion after working 4.2 innings, striking out eight Pioneers and surrendering just a pair of unearned runs. He allowed his first hit since April 2 in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double to Chapman, snapping Bumbaugh's stretch of 16.1 consecutive hitless innings. It was the junior's fifth time allowing one hit or fewer in six conference starts this spring. Chapman scored twice and drove in one run for Batesville while Mark Brissey and Kace Simpson also recorded RBI, while Connor Cunningham and Cole Bentz also scored runs. Right-hander Beau Baxter absorbed the loss for Batesville after throwing 3.1 innings and allowing eight runs and seven hits. WHAT'S NEXT? Marion travels to Covington, Tennessee on Friday, April 26 before returning home to host Briarcrest Christian on Monday, April 29 for a junior varsity/varsity doubleheader that begins at 4:30 p.m., followed by the varsity contest around 7 p.m. The Patriots cap their 5A East slate on Tuesday, April 30 with a road doubleheader at Greene County Tech, which begins at 4:30. The Briarcrest Christian game and the Greene County Tech doubleheader will be broadcast live on the MPAN YouTube channel. 5A EAST RESULTS FROM 4/23 Batesville 7, Marion 5 (10 innings) Marion 10, Batesville 4 Greene Co. Tech 8, Searcy 1 Searcy 5, Greene Co. Tech 2 W. Memphis 8, Nettleton 1 W. Memphis 6, Nettleton 5 Valley View 17, Paragould 5 Valley View 9, Paragould 5 5A EAST STANDINGS ON 4/24 SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Valley View 12-0* MARION 9-3* Greene Co. Tech 9-3* Batesville 7-5 Searcy 7-5 W. Memphis 2-10 Nettleton 2-10 Paragould 1-11 *clinched playoff berth in Harrison May 9-11 5A EAST SERIES ON 4/30 Marion at Greene Co. Tech Valley View at Searcy Paragould at W. Memphis Batesville at Nettleton