Fort Frye center fielder Jack McCurdy is congratulated by teammate Carter Brown (7) after McCurdy made a spectacular diving catch to end the bottom of the third inning during Tuesday’s baseball game at Marietta. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

The Fort Frye way of creating chaos for opposing teams was at its finest while defeating Marietta 5-0 on Tuesday.

A Marietta baserunner was picked off at first and the Tigers were caught napping when Fort Frye called for a delayed double steal and added to what was a one-run lead.

“Fort Frye made us beat ourselves a lot of times, and that’s what they will do,” Marietta coach Kail Hill said. “They play small ball and put pressure on you. And that’s something we need to be better at.”

On the mound, Fort Frye received another standout performance from Grady Hesson, who shook off a pair of first-inning walks and extended his scoreless streak to 11 innings over his first two starts of the season. And just for good measure, the senior struck out 10 while scattering four singles.

“I just needed to find my rhythm and get settled in,” Hesson said. “I’m feeling really good on the mound. I am looking to build off my successes last year and continue to go from there.”

Marietta shortstop Seth Goeller, left, chases Fort Frye baserunner Jack McCurdy in a rundown during Tuesday’s game in Marietta. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Both Hesson and Marietta’s Jeremiah Loughry were locked in a pitcher’s duel for four innings. A few pivotal moments in the field for the Cadets kept the game scoreless until the top of the fifth inning.

One defensive gem in particular helped Fort Frye’s cause. In the bottom of the third inning with two outs and bases clear, Marietta’s Will Tornes ripped a shot into the right-center field gap. As the Fort Frye right fielder looked to cut it off, center fielder Jack McCurdy covered significant acreage, dove to his left and laid out while securing the third out of the inning.

“That was a baseball play – it was awesome,” Fort Frye coach Trey Engle. “I know I was kind of getting ready to scream.”

The bottom half of the order put Fort Frye on top 2-0 in the fifth inning. Wade Duskey led off with a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt then scored on Wyatt Duskey’s two-out double.

McCurdy followed with an infield single. Moments later, Wyatt Duskey and McCurdy went into motion as part of a delayed steal. McCurdy kept the rundown alive long enough for Duskey to score.

Fort Frye’s Grady Hesson gives his batting equipment to his first base coach after hitting a lead-off double in the fourth inning during Tuesday’s game at Marietta. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

The top of the sixth inning happened without incident for the first two outs before Grady Shuster walked and Clayton Tullius’ base hit. After a balk advanced runners to second and third base, Loughry let his emotions get the best of him, said a few words to the base umpire then was removed from the game by coach Hill.

In 5 2/3 innings of work, Loughry allowed two runs on five hits and struck out six. Before exchanging postgame handshakes with Fort Frye, Loughry apologized to the base umpire and the two hugged. A class move by both parties.

“It’s just a learning moment,” Hill said. “I was young. I’ve made mistakes and he’s going to learn from it. He is going to be better for it. He is a great kid. His emotions ran a little high there.

“As for his pitching, he has been great all year. I feel confident giving him the baseball every single day. If his arm is able to go, he is going to be out there.”

Despite a walk to Wade Duskey, Marietta escaped further damage in the sixth inning and kept the deficit at 2-0.

Marietta’s starting pitcher Jeremiah Loughry delivers a pitch during Tuesday’s game against Fort Frye in Marietta. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Fort Frye broke through for three runs in the seventh. The Cadets loaded the bases without the benefit of a hit and Hesson helped his own cause keeping the line moving with a two-run single. Shuster added a sacrifice fly to pad the lead to 5-0.

“Right now, I am seeing the ball really well,” said Hesson, who was 2-for-4 at the plate. “I hope that continues. Just have to keep working, keep swinging and see where we are going.

“As a team, we pretty much have our whole team back. We play together really well. We have a lot of chemistry. If one person makes a mistake, we have another guy to pick him up.”

Owen Riley, who accounted for two of Marietta’s four hits, led off the home half of the seventh inning with a base hit. Hesson promptly responded – retiring the next three batters, including two on strikes.

“Grady throws strikes, which in high school baseball is the biggest thing,” Engle said. “He competes. We always feel comfortable with him on the mound. As a coaching staff, we feel he is our best option. In that first inning, he has been through enough that he would figure it out.”

Marietta head coach Kail Hill, far left, describes the ground rules prior to the start of the Tigers’ game with Fort Frye, Tuesday in Marietta. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Fort Frye, which outscored Belpre 41-1 in a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, improves to 3-0. Marietta, which had multiple runners on base in two different innings against the Cadets, drops to 2-2.

“We really could not get the bats going,” Hill said. “Hesson was really filling up the zone and making us look off balance a lot. We had a couple of things going – we just didn’t have that clutch hit.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

A young Fort Frye fan stands for the National Anthem prior to the start of the Cadets’ baseball game, Tuesday at Marietta. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)