Blue takes two
Marshall Blue sweeps Pipestone in VFW doubleheader action at Legion FieldJenny Kirk jkirk@marshallindependent.com
Article Photos
MARSHALL - The Marshall VFW Blue baseball team put it all together to sweep Pipestone in doubleheader action at Legion Field Thursday.
In Game 1, Blue dominated Pipestone as they pounded out 12 hits and earned a 6-2 win.
The score was tied at 1-all after the first inning. Pipestone's Jason Nettik singled, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and then scored on a fielder's choice. Jon Gorter also singled in the inning.
Marshall's Ben Sanders opened the home half of the inning with a line drive single to left field. After two groundouts, Nathan Werner blasted a ground-rule double that one-hopped the ivy fence in left-center, scoring Sanders.
"I thought we did a really nice job as a team," said Blue coach Matt Suby. "Riley Carpenter gave us probably one of his better finishes this summer. The last three or four times, he's pitched really well. He threw strikes and let our defense play and offensively we hit the ball well. We took the ball the other way and up the middle quite a bit."
Both teams left two runners in scoring position in the second inning. Out in right-field, Marshall's Michael Danahar made a phenomenal catch to keep Pipestone runners at bay.
Blue put more runners in place in the bottom of the third. Spencer Buss and Mason Schnaible singled and Werner walked. Then Riley Carpenter came through with an RBI sacrifice.
"I think we hit really well (Thursday)," said Buss. "We had good situational hitting and we got some bunts down when we needed to. I've been feeling good at the plate lately. I'm starting to really see the ball. I've been putting a couple of hits in for the last few games, so that's good."
Marshall added three more runs to the scoreboard in the fouth after earning three hits and capitalizing on two Pipestone errors. Tyler Alcorn hit an infield single and Buss bunted his way to first. Then Carpenter earned two RBI on his groundball to the left side.
Carpenter went all six innings and picked up the win on the mound. Carpenter struck out four, including an impressive strikeout against the final batter who fell victim to a wicked curve ball.
"I felt pretty good and my fastball was working pretty well," said Carpenter. "A couple of my off-speed pitches were doing pretty good too. I thought I had a good, overall game."
Carpenter was 1-for-2 at the plate with two RBI and a sacrifice. Werner went 1-for-2 with a sacrifice, two RBI and a walk. Buss was 3-for-4, while Schnaible, Brandon Stegner and Danahar all added two hits apiece.
In the top of the fifth, Blue pulled off an impressive 6-4-3 double-play to make scoring difficult for Pipestone. Tyler Rieck did come up with a double immediately afterward and Gorter drove Rieck in after Marshall committed its only error in the game. But a flyout to center ended the Pipestone rally.
"They're paying attention to details," said Suby. "They're playing good defense and getting those two-out hits and two-strike hits. When the pitcher is throwing strikes, it's a lot easier to stay in and play defense. Riley did that and the defense helped him out."
Danahar hit a line drive single to left to lead off the fifth. After Alcorn's bunt advanced Danahar to second, Buss singled up the middle and Schnaible earned a base hit to right, scoring Danahar.
"It's been coming along the last week or two," Suby said. "They guys have really been doing a nice job of focusing and getting ready for what's to come. Pipestone's a really good team and it's good to get these kind of games before the Fourth of July vacation. It's nice to get on a roll."
In the nightcap, Marshall stormed out to an 8-1 lead after two inning and eventually routed Pipestone 11-1 in five innings.
Danahar got the win on the mound for Blue.
"Michael is a kid that we rely on a lot," said Suby. "We know he'll come in and throw a lot of strikes for us. He threw really well in the Watertown tournament. He does a good job for us."
At the plate, Blue showed up again. Buss, Schnaible and Danahar all crushed triples, while Aaron Antony earned two doubles. Carpenter went 3-for-3 with three RBI, while Antony and Schnaible went 2-for-4 with three RBI apiece.
With the sweep, Blue moves to 12-11 overall this season, while Pipestone drops to 21-11.
Next up, Marshall travels to play a doubleheader against Luverne Tuesday.
Game 1
Pipestone100 010-2 6 2
Marshall101 31x-6 12 1
M-Riley Carpenter. P-Mark Abrahamson. 2B: M-Nathan Werner. P-Tyler Rieck, Gunnar Manderscheid.
Game 2
Pipestone100 00-1 4 3
Marshall351 02-11 11 3
M-Michael Danahar. P-Dylan Kor, Jon Gorter (2), Matt Haroldson (5). 3B: M-Spencer Buss, Mason Schnaible, Danahar. 2B: P-Nate Dubbelde. M-Aaron Antony 2, Ben Sanders, Carpenter, Schnaible.
