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MARSHALL - Heading into the sixth inning, the Marshall Legion baseball team held a 5-0 lead.

But after Belle Plaine was through batting in the sixth, Marshall faced a 6-5 deficit.

After scoring a run in the home half to tie the game at 6-all, Marshall added two more in the bottom of the seventh to win the game 8-7.

"That was definitely closer than we wanted it to be," said Marshall Legion coach Bryan Nikkel. "We had some chances earlier in the game to bury them, but we didn't really get it done. But it's a credit to Belle Plaine for not giving up. They're definitely a good team and they battled. It's a good win for us against a non-league opponent."

Nathan Schaeffer started on the mound for Marshall and had only given up two hits in five innings. But Belle Plaine started to get his number in the sixth as they earned two doubles and two singles.

Marshall won 5-4 in the second game to complete the sweep.

"We played good defense early in the game," Nikkel said. "Nathan Schaeffer pitched a heck of a ballgame," said Nikkel. "He definitely gave us a great chance to win. It was too bad, he ended up not getting the win."

Andrew Mathiowetz, who got the win, replaced Schaeffer on the mound and immediately forced a groundout. But then Johnny Egan and Andy Lehman earned singles on bloopers to left field. Belle Plaine got the go-ahead run when Tyler Morrison's chopper up the middle got past the fielders.

"Mathiowetz came in, threw strikes and got the job done," said Nikkel. "He battled and they got some hits off of him. But he stayed in there and kept throwing strikes and gave us the chance to stay in it."

Marshall's Zach Thooft opened the bottom of the sixth with a walk. After Mason Schnaible's sacrifice bunt, Belle Plaine's Jeff Chard walked three straight batters and allowed one run to be scored. But then a 3-2 and 2-3 double play ended the rally for Marshall.

In the seventh, Dylan Nyberg got on base after getting hit in the arm by Mathiowetz. Ryan Deers followed up with a ground-rule double to right. Then Jake Scheer earned a sacrifice RBI to put Belle Plaine ahead 7-6.

In the home half, pinch hitter Josh Flygare led off with a single for Marshall. After a pitching change, Darrick Allpress and Aaron Antony earned walks to load the bases.

"I just wanted to put the bat on the ball," said Flygare. "I just wanted to put it somewhere, get on base and get some momentum going. We had the lead and then we lost it. We had some mental errors that we shouldn't have had. But it was nice to get the win."

After a flyout, Schnaible and Matt Felton both took walks, scoring two more runs and winning the game.

Marshall put up its first run in the second when Antony's single scored Clay Ellis. Thooft and Schnaible hit singles to start a rally in the third. Felton and Mathiowetz drove in one run apiece via groundouts.

In the fifth, Greg Barnes blasted a double to left-center to start another rally for Marshall. Andrew Larsen drove Barnes across home plate after forcing an infield error. Then Allpress pounded an RBI double to left, giving Marshall a 5-0 lead.

In the second game against Belle Plaine, Marshall won 5-4. Allpress picked up the win, while Larsen got the save. At the plate, Mathiowetz smacked two doubles and Schnaible had a two-run single.

"It was back and forth," Nikkel said. "We had a lot of chances early in the game with runners on base, but I thought we ran ourselves out of a few innings. Late in the game, we capitalized on our opportunities."

Marshall (3-0) travels to Sioux Falls on Tuesday for a doubleheader. This weekend, Marshall hosts the Mid-summer Classic Wood Bat Tournament, which will be a four-team round robin format this year.

"We have a lot of games coming up for us," Nikkel said. "It should be a good test these next three or four games. I'm learning a lot about our team. I'm getting to know the kids and they're getting to know me.

Game 1

Belle Plaine000 006 1-7 10 2

Marshall012 021 2-8 8 2

M-Nathan Schaeffer, Andrew Mathiowetz (6). BP-Jake Scheer, Jeff Chard (6), Greg Feltman (7). WP-Mathiowetz. LP-Feltman. 2B: M-Greg Barnes, Darrick Allpress, Mason Schnaible. BP-Stephen Lyons, Ryan Deers, Chard.

Game 2

Belle Plaine120 010 0-4 8 3

Marshall201 020 x-5 7 0

M-Darrick Allpress, Andrew Larsen (6). BP-Greg Feltman. WP-Allpress. S-Larsen. 2B: Andrew Mathiowetz 2.