Photo by Brennen Rupp Marshall’s Chris Allen dives to make a catch during their game against Mankato West in the Section 2AAA tournament Saturday in New Ulm. The Tigers advanced to the Section 2AAA championship game with a 12-1 victory in six innings over Mankato West.

NEW ULM – The Marshall Tigers got off to a fast start during their section tournament game against Mankato West on Saturday and never looked back.

Mason Penske led off the game for the Tigers with a double. The next batter, Ryan VanMoer drove in Penske with an RBI single. Dylan Criquet-Danielson then walked to put runners on first and second with no outs. A perfect sacrifice bunt by Logan Tomasek put VanMouer and Criquet-Danielson in scoring position with one out in the inning. Jacob Hess then drove in the game’s second run of the game to give Marshall a 2-0 lead.

The Tigers quickly got back to the plate when Penske induced three straight ground balls on six pitches to record a perfect 1-2-3 bottom half of the inning.

Marshall’s fast start helped them pick up a convincing 12-1 victory over Mankato West in six innings.

“That’s a good hitting team there,” Marshall coach Chace Pollock said. “They are one of the best hitting teams in the state. We knew that going in. Mason and Brock (Boerboom) did a great job working together. Quick innings are good. They had some hard hit balls, but they were right at guys. We’ll take what we can get and not complain about it.”

Mankato West started the bottom half of the second inning by getting the first two batters on base. A hard hit ball to deep right field appeared like it would drop in for an extra base hit and score a pair of runs, but Joe Blanchard made an incredible running catch to keep the Scarlets off the board.

The Tigers struck for two more runs in the third inning. Criquet-Danielson hit a double to deep left-center to put runners at second and third. Zachary Thompson picked up a two-run single to extend Marshall’s lead to 4-0.

The Tigers got another web gem in the bottom half of the inning. This time it was from center fielder Chris Allen. With runners on corners and two outs in the inning, with a run already home, Allen made a diving catch to keep Mankato West off the board.

“They did a great job,” Pollock said. “They hustled after everything. Each and everyday in practice those guys work. It’s fun to see kids come through and as seniors get rewarded for that. It’s a good group to be around. It’s fun to see those kids get rewarded.”

The Tigers poured it on in the fourth inning, scoring four runs. VanMoer drove in the inning’s first run off an RBI single. Criquet-Danielson then hit a three-run home run a country mile to give the Tigers a commanding 8-1 lead.

Marshall’s 1, 2, and 3 hitters combined for eight hits and drove in six of Marshall’s 12 runs.

“That’s why they are there,” Pollock said. “They’ve been doing that for us all year. They battle at bats. They don’t try to do too much. Our motto is just get on base for the next guy. If it’s a walk or a hit, whatever the case may be.”

With the win the Tigers have now won 12 of their past 13 games and own a 17-5 record. They also snapped Mankato West’s seven-game winning streak.

The Tigers will be in the Section 2AAA Championship on Wednesday at Johnson Park in New Ulm at 5 p.m. The Tigers will face the winner of the Mankato West/New Ulm matchup.

Marshall lost to Mankato West earlier this season 4-2, before defeating them on Saturday. The Tigers went 2-1 against New Ulm this season and recently defeated them in the section tournament.

“We just have to play our game,” Pollock said. “We have 11 seniors and they’ve been playing together since they were young. They know exactly what to do. We need to get better in practice on Monday and Tuesday and we’ll see what Wednesday holds.”

Marshall 12, Mankato West 1

Marshall 202 422 — 12 13 1

Mankato West 001 000 — 1 8 3

HITTING: Marshall (Penske 3-4; VanMoer 3-4; Criquet-Danielson 2-2; Thompson 1-3; Boerboom 2-3; Blanchard 1-3).

PITCHING (IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO): Marshall (Penske 7-8-1-1-0-1).