Photos by Kerry Patrick Warren’s Caleb Davis (3) and Carson Gandee (24) celebrate with teammates after Davis’ third-inning home run against Marietta Friday in Vincent. Warren won, 8-4.

Friday afternoon at Warren High School, sophomore Trent Taylor pitched six shutout innings and went the distance despite Marietta’s comeback efforts in the top of the seventh inning, and Davis was a triple shy of the cycle as the Warriors split the regular-season series with an 8-4 win.

Davis finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, solo homer and a pair of stolen bases. In his final at bat with a runner on third base in the bottom of the sixth inning, the senior reached on an infield error.

“Guys on base, I just do what I got to do to get them in,” Davis said. “I just tried to hit a backside single as best I could.”

The leadoff homer in the third inning put Warren in front 2-0.The Warriors tacked on two more runs in the inning behind consecutive singles from Hayden Pelletier, Hunter Vincent and Hunter Grimm.

Marietta head coach Josh McKitrick, center, and assistant coach Scott Hollister react to a conversation with the base umpire during Friday’s high school baseball game against Warren in Vincent. Warren won, 8-4.

“It was a 3-1 pitch, and it was my pitch,” Davis said. “Right down the middle where I wanted it. Squared it up nice and it ended up going a long way.”

Warren (5-8) doubled its lead in the fifth inning with four runs scoring with the benefit of just one hit. Marietta reliever Cameron Goeller walked two batters to open the inning and the Tiger defense committed two errors as the deficit increased to 8-0.

Jacob Sealey accounted for the lone Warrior base hit in the fifth inning and gave him his second RBI of the game.

After striking out the last two Marietta batters in the sixth inning, Taylor was only three outs from giving Warren its second shutout win in as many days. However, three bad bounces on the infield kept the Marietta line moving. Goeller, James Wakefield and Jonah Emery each singled home a run, and Carson Strahler was credited with an RBI after reaching on a fielder’s choice.

Even after a mound visit, the Warren coaching staff stuck with Taylor with the tying run on deck and two outs. Warren coach Chad Porter stated later that Marietta’s No. 9 hitter, Jordan Straw, was the last straw regardless of the outcome for Taylor. On a 2-0 count, Straw popped the next pitch straight up on the field and Taylor took charge for the catch and the final out.

Taylor allowed 12 hits and hit a pair of batters, but walked only one and struck out five.

“Trent is really good — he has a really high ceiling and when he is able to get ahead of guys and able to locate, he is tough to face,” Porter said. “Those three bad hop groundballs forced him to throw more pitches. Our starting pitching has been good all year and today was another example of that.”

Also enjoying multi-hit games for Warren were Pelletier going 3-for-4 with a run scored and Sealey turning in a 2-for-3 effort with a run scored. Pelletier just missed hitting a home run for the second day. In the sixth inning, his ball scaled the top of the short porch in left field and just missed clearing the wall for a long single.

Izak Knighten took the loss for Marietta (4-8) after lasting only two innings. The sophomore righty allowed four runs on seven hits and walked three. Goeller worked the final four innings and also allowed four runs while walking two and striking out one.

“This is our fourth game in four days, so we are low on pitching,” Marietta coach Josh McKitrick said. “(On Thursday), I threw a freshman in relief in the last inning just so we would have the two guys we had available today. If Cam wouldn’t have been able to come in relief and finish it out I don’t know where we were going.”

Weston Davis led the Marietta hit parade with three singles, while Malachi Morton, Peyton Cox and Emery each contributed two hits.

“I told the guys I’m happy — we hit the ball solid,” Marietta coach Josh McKitrick said. “We made great contact and right at guys.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com