High School Baseball: North Marion leaves The Villages scoreless in district championship win

North Marion and The Villages entered Thursday night's district championship game with confidence. The Colts had crushed Citrus 13-2 in the semifinals, while the Buffaloes had scored 21 runs in two district tournament games to reach the final.

North Marion's Hunter Jones and The Villages' Reuben Barron threw some of their best stuff to start the game. Both held their opponents without a hit in the first inning. Over the next three innings, however, the Colts filled the scoresheet, plating eight runs in the second inning alone.

The Colts (22-5) ended up a 12-0 winner in five innings over the Buffaloes (14-14) in front of their home fans.

“Hunter had a great start tonight,” North Marion baseball coach Dale Hall said. “He had every pitch working. The fastball is live, but when the slider is working, he’s extremely tough to beat.”

North Marion has the resume to lock up the No. 1 regional seed. Between that announcement and the Colts' next game, Hall will help his guys celebrate with some new hardware. While they enjoy their winnings, let’s look back on an unforgettable season.

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North Marion rises from the ashes

North Marion’s senior class has gone through a lot. The pandemic cut their first year short. They returned in 2021 to make the state finals. But their junior year was rough due to youth and late-season injuries to Cooper Jones and Ross Ray making the second half of the season a grind.

“I was proud of those guys the way they grinded," Hall said. “I thought they were very competitive in a tough situation. Transfer over to this year. We get a good nucleus back, a couple newcomers, and they have just done a good job of meshing.”

Last season, they were below .500 under Hall for the first time. They’d lose 15-9 to Dunnellon in the 2022 district semifinals.

“Last year was a disappointment, and we’re kind of proving everyone wrong because they said it’s going to be the same thing next year,” said Hunter Jones. “We’re proving everyone wrong by having a great season so far.”

The senior class promised each other it wouldn’t happen again. With the roster healthy and new blood infused into the program, the Colts have the momentum and production to make waves in the regional tournament.

Colts are breaking records

The Colts are having one of the best seasons in school history, including a first-ever 20-win mark in the regular season.

They’ve grown their wins to 22 through the district tournament. The last time they won 20 or more games, the Colts were a few swings away from claiming a state title.

“Definitely the best regular season we’ve ever had with the toughest schedule we’ve ever had,” Hall said. “These guys just found ways to win all season long.”

North Marion has the talent to push through regionals. There are six college baseball signees on the roster, and several more to come. All that talent and hard work turned the Colts into a top 30 team in the state.

The perfect recipe for success

A special team is obvious to see. Even when the audience doesn’t have experience in the sport, you can see the talent level between opponents.

That’s been North Marion’s story for most of the year. The Colts have been a well-oiled machine with two of the best weapons in the sport: consistent hitting and ace pitching.

“Everyone is different,” Hall said. “This is a special group of guys. Very happy for them to accomplish this goal. We’ve got higher goals, but this is always special. You never take a district championship for granted.”

A lineup that knows how to get on base efficiently and leads to an explosive offense powered by the Colts’ collection of talent. The pitching core has allowed an opponent to score more than five runs only three times in the last two months.

North Marion has all the tools to add to the trophy case this season. The Colts have proven nothing can stop them time and time this season.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: North Marion Colts baseball continues success with district championship