Semoball

Kennett grad off to strong start on the mound for Catfish

The Cape Catfish players gather around the pitching mound to celebrate a 10-inning win recently over O'Fallon. Kennett High School graduate Marshall Brown worked the final four innings of the win.
Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

A year ago, Cape Catfish pitcher Marshall Brown was coming off a redshirt season as a young guy at NCAA Division II Arkansas Tech and he lacked a bit of confidence in himself on the mound.

What a difference a year makes.

The Kennett High School graduate is throwing well early – and being given important innings – early in this 2022 Catfish season.

The Catfish will host Burlington tonight and Saturday at Capaha Field, with both games starting at 6:35 p.m.

“He got better as last season went on,” Cape pitching coach David Lawson said of Brown recently. “He was a redshirt kid last year and hadn’t had a lot of innings.”

The Catfish (5-4) have been giving Brown work in relief this season, including a four-inning outing in a recent 6-5 win over O’Fallon.

In that game, Brown didn’t allow a run, which opened the door for Cape to rally from a 5-4 deficit in the last three innings.

Brown also threw well in Wednesday’s 3-2 victory over the Hoots.

On that night, he worked a couple of innings and didn’t allow an earned run or gave up a walk.

“At the end of last season,” Lawson said, “Marshall was one of our guys. This year, he has come in in better shape, better everything. He is going to be a guy for us going forward, no doubt.”

Brown made 16 appearances for Arkansas Tech this spring, with one being a start. He struck out 19 batters, while only walking six in 25 1/3 innings.

This summer, he hasn’t walked a batter yet in three outings, while striking out seven and allowing seven hits in nine innings.

Brown has been charged with just one earned run so far this summer.

“Marshall can go four or five innings if we need him to,” Lawson said. “But he can also go one if we need that.”

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