BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Keystone Heights High School’s baseball team was seeking its fourth straight win, but instead lost 12-3 to Class 4A North Marion on April 7 in Citra.
The Class 2A Indians (16-6) scored the game’s first two runs. Destin Harnage and Aiden Screened reached on an error and a walk, respectively, in the first inning and scored on an Austin Smith single and an Ethan Franklin ground out.
North Marion answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning, with two coming on a home run.
The Colts hit two home runs in all and finished with six extra-base hits and 17 hits total.
Keystone was held to four hits.
The Indians entered the game off an 8-0 road win over Class 5A Fleming Island on April 4, with pitchers Franklin and Guage Barry combining to allow three hits.
Barry started on the mound and gave up two hits through 4.1 innings. He had seven strikeouts.
Franklin closed it out, allowing one hit and striking out two.
Keystone scored three runs in the first. Harnage hit a leadoff single, followed by Andrew Wilson getting hit by a pitch. Franklin, Smith and Tallon Campbell all hit RBI singles.
It was 4-0 before Keystone added three runs in the fourth. Ty Mitzel singled and scored on a double by Harnage, who finished 4 for 4. Wilson hit an RBI single, while another run scored on an error.
Smith, who went 2 for 4, hit an RBI single in the sixth.
The Indians host Eagle’s View on Tuesday, April 8, at 6:30 p.m. and travel to play Clay on Thursday, April 10, at 7 p.m.
