McKinney, Texas – The McKinney Marshals used a combination of strong pitching and timely hitting to defeat the Alexandria Aces, and improve their perfect home record to 5-0.

The Marshals staked an early 4-0 lead in the third inning after an RBI single from Jason Houston (Arkansas-Little Rock) and sacrifice fly by Jake Atwell (Virginia Tech) before Troy McCartney (McLennan College) stole home on a successful double steal.

McKinney starting pitcher Marcus Limon (Wayland Baptist) held the Aces batters in check, allowing only one run through his first six innings of work before Alexandria tied the game at four in the seventh frame. Marshal reliever Rob Thomas (Cisco Junior College) was not able to keep the Aces’ runners from scoring, but held on long enough to give the Marshals the chance they needed.

With their lead gone, the home team did not take long to get back on top. Nico Taylor (Texas State) reached on an error to start off the inning, and came around to score two batters later after Alexandria pitcher Aryo Fleming (LSU-Alexandria) threw the ball away from the third baseman on an attempt to get Taylor out. Two batters later, Chase Huchingson (Central Arkansas) laced reliever Keaton Parsell (Texas-Tyler) pitch to the wall for a two-run double.

Reliever Landon Stanford (McLennan) shut down the Aces in the final two innings to pick up his second save on the season. Thomas (2-0) picked up the win, while Fleming (1-2) was saddled with the loss.

McKinney improved to 8-5 on the year, and currently sit in a tie for first place with the Brazos Valley Bombers.