MARION — Pitching and defense dominated the first six innings of the annual SI Select All-Star Softball Game held at Marion Ballpark, but the Purple squad erupted for seven runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to beat the Orange team 10-3 in the scheduled nine inning game.

The SI Select Game features players from all classes. Pinckneyville freshman Ella Keene got the scoring started with a solo home run in the fifth inning. Murphysboro junior Sarah Cook doubled and later scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth, tying the game 1-1.

Then in the seventh, West Frankfort senior Anna Rolla, who will play at John A. Logan next year, delivered a tiebreaking, bases loaded, two-run single to put Purple on top 3-1. Harrisburg sophomore Abby Stacey followed with a three-run home run two pitches later to break the game open. Woodlawn’s Kodie VanEyck added an RBI ground rule double as Purple scored seven runs in the inning to lead 8-1.

Purple then added two more runs in the eighth. Mt. Vernon senior Justice Malone, who is headed to Dartmouth to play next year, drove in VanEyck with a single. Another run scored on a ground out by Cook for a 10-1 lead.

Orange tallied two in the ninth as Herrin’s Jersey Summers singled ahead of Goreville junior Kyndall Webb, who blasted a two-run home run to center. Orange threatened to make it interesting, but ZRC’s Hayley Pasquino got a strikeout to end it, with the Purple squad winning 10-3.

Speaking of winning, Benton’s Braelyn Miller won the closest to the plate contest, as all of the seniors playing in the game had a chance to throw a ball from the outfield toward home plate. Miller edged Malone to win, taking home a thousand dollar scholarship for the prize.