Photo by Jake Przytarski Marshall’s Konnor Aufenthie delivers a pitch during their game against Tracy on Monday. Marshall Black defeated Tracy 11-0 in five innings.

TRACY – A three-hit shutout from Konnor Aufenthie combined with a strong offensive performance from the Marshall Junior Legion Black lineup was the recipe for a victory over Tracy by a score of 11-0 in five innings.

Getting the start for Tracy was Luc Gervais who ran into some trouble early on as Marshall came out strong out of the gates. Gervais was able to retire Matt Hmielewski and Brayden Hilgemann on a pair of groundouts but gave up a single to Kaleb Welvaert that brought the eventual first run aboard. Jordan Mernaugh followed the single up with a walk before Trey Steinbach drew another walk to bring Welvaert to third, where he went on to score on a passed ball to bring in the first run of the game during Peyton Grant’s at-bat. Grant popped out a few pitches later to end the inning.

Coach Chace Pollock was happy with how his club started the game.

“I thought we played well,” said Pollock. “I thought we came in and set the tone right away.”

Aufenthie started hot for Marshall Black in the bottom of the first and kept his foot on the gas all the way through the entirety of the game. A 1-2-3 inning for Aufenthie began with Jake Tauer lining out to Hmielewski. Konnor Zick and Caleb Nordsiden were unable to reach first either when they grounded out to end the inning.

Off the mound and into the batter’s box Aufenthie set the tempo offensively in the top of the second when he connected on a leadoff double. Zach Olsen advanced Aufenthie to third on a one-out single and Hmielewski brought him home with an RBI single to score the second run of the game. A passed ball during Hilgemann’s second at-bat brought Olsen to third and he would go on to score when Hilgemann grounded out to second. That was all the offense that Marshall Black could muster in the frame and headed back out to the field with a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second.

Gervais did his part in Tracy’s attempt to rally back with a leadoff double to left but was left stranded as Aufenthie retired the following three batters on a pair of popouts and a strikeout to close out the second inning.

Leading off the top of the third for Marshall Black was Mernaugh who got the top of the inning started with a single. Steinbach got hit by a pitch in the next at-bat that prompted a pitching change as Tauer took over for Gervais. Grant continued to pour it on with a bunt single that loaded the bases for Aufenthie, who brought Mernaugh home on a groundout to short and advanced the runners into scoring position. A wild pitch scored Mernaugh during Alcorn’s at-bat and Grant would go on to score on a sacrifice fly. Hmielewski brought the rally to an end when he grounded out after Olsen had reached on a walk. Marshall was now out to a commanding lead at 6-0 through two and a half innings.

It was more of the same in the bottom of the third as Aufenthie gave up a single but kept Tracy off the board and continuing his shutout.

The fourth inning was where Marshall Black did the most damage and put the game all but out reach for Tracy. It started with a leadoff double from Hilgemann followed by Welvaert getting hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Mernaugh connected on an RBI single to bring Hilgemann home before a pitching change was made that brought Sawyer Otto to the mound in relief of Tauer. Three more runs would score before the inning came to a close to push the lead to 10-0. A final run in the fifth for Marshall brought the game to its final score of 11-0.

It wasn’t the result that Tracy had hoped for but head coach Bill Tauer tipped his cap to Marshall and acknowledged how beneficial it is to play a team like the one they faced on Monday.

“It’s always good to see good competition and Marshall Black is (one of) if not probably the best team we’re going to see all year,” said Tauer. “They’re pretty solid up and down the lineup.”