With a trip to the state tournament on the line, the Marshall VFW Blue team went 3-0 in the Final Four to punch their ticket for St. Cloud.

All the district winners will meet in St. Cloud, beginning Aug. 6, and play to be named the state's best.

"I'm truly excited for the kids," said Marshall head coach Matt Suby. "It has been a summer that has had some ups and downs, and I couldn't have asked for a better effort out of them this weekend."

Marshall earned the trip by defeating Worthington and Olivia on Saturday and following with another victory over Olivia on Sunday.

"They really bought into the idea of taking it one pitch at a time and simplifying the game as much as we could," Suby said.

Marshall edged out Worthington in a scoring frenzy to open weekend competition. Blue was led by Ben Sanders and Brandon Stegner, who both drove in two runs, in Marshall's 12-10 victory.

Tyler Alcorn started on the mound and went six innings, striking out one and allowing 10 runs (four earned) on nine hits.

The offense continued in Saturday's night-cap as Blue defeated Olivia 8-3.

Michael Danahar went 3-for-3 with four RBI, while Nathan Werner went 2-for-4, including a home run and two RBI. Spencer Buss went 3-for-4 with a double and Aaron Antony went 3-for-4 with a triple and a RBI.

"Offensively, we must have been saving these hits for this weekend," Suby said. "We really came out and hit the ball well one through nine. It wasn't dependent on two guys, it really was a complete team effort."

Cody Mather started on the mound and was the winning pitcher for Marshall. He struck out seven and gave up just one unearned run on three hits and two walks.

Marshall took the championship with a 14-4 routing of Olivia on Sunday, led by Buss, who went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI.Stegner went 1-for-3 with two RBI and Danagar went 3-for-4 with a one RBI.

"Defensively, we were hot and cold, but when we hit the ball like we did and put up the runs like we did, that gives the team a lot of confidence," said Suby.

Blue will find out who they play once all the district tournaments are complete.

Marshall132 240 0-12 15 6

Worhtington 050 401 0-10 9 3

M-Tyler Alcorn, Cody Mather (7), Derek Lee, Henning (3). WP-Alcorn. LP-Henning. 2B: Spencer Buss, Aaron Antony, Brandon Stegner, Cody Mather; W-Rogers. 3B: Michael Danahar.

Marshall401 030 0-8 13 1

Olivia000 002 1-3 6 3

M-Cody Mather, Ben Sanders (6). O-Kyle Krause. WP-Mather. LP-Krause. 2B: M-Buss, Antony, Danahar, Carpenter. 3B: M-Antony.

Olivia000 040 0-4 7 3

Marshall003 074 X-14 12 3

O-Athman, Krause (5), Neubauer. M-Riley Carpenter, Nathan Schaeffer (5). WP-Carpenter. LP-Athman. 2B: O-Steffel, Neubauer; M-Buss, Mason Schnaible, Werner, Schaeffer. HR: M-Buss.