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AMATEUR BASEBALL: A’s roll past Mudhens, 7-1

Photo by Joshua Guetter Marshall’s Barry Meyer follows through on a swing during their game against Minneota Wednesday. The A’s defeated the Mudhens 7-1.

MARSHALL – The game may not have been originally on the schedule, but that didn’t stop the Marshall A’s and Minneota Mudhens from facing off Wednesday night at Legion Field in the final regular season game of the year. After dropping below .500 for the first time all season on Sunday, the A’s were looking to get back to their winning ways. The Mudhens came into the game as a team trending in the right direction, winners of three straight. It was the A’s who jumped out early and never looked back, as they evened up their record with a 7-1 victory.

With some downtime before playoffs begin, both teams decided a game would keep players fresh. “The big thing was to get guys time, some swings,” said Marshall head coach Justin Greenwood. In a loose atmosphere, both teams used up their pitching staff, giving a handful of hurlers time on the mound. The first pitcher for Minneota was Danny Hennen, who got into some early trouble against the A’s lineup. In the bottom of the first, Marshall’s Jordon Kontz was hit by a pitch, then moved up to scoring position on a stolen base. Kontz came around to score the game’s first run on Derek Branson’s RBI double.

Marshall’s one run lead held firm in the early innings, as A’s starter Justin Mettling delivered a strong performance. Mettling got out of some first inning trouble with the help of a double play, and he went on to throw three total innings of scoreless ball. Mettling would not be let down by the team’s bullpen.

There was some good pitching efforts on the other side as well. Minneota’s Henry Pesch walked the leadoff batter in the third, but struck out the next three batters. The A’s were able to get to Pesch in the fourth inning, however. After Travis McGlauflin walked to start the frame, Derek Schlangen lined a one-out double down the left field line for an RBI hit, giving Marshall a 2-0 advantage. Defensively, McGlauflin would also throw two scoreless innings for the A’s, striking out three. Marshall broke the game open with a three-run fifth. Mudhens reliever Thomas Fischer struggled to find the strike zone, walking three batters in the inning. McGlauflin drove in two runs on a single, and the A’s now led 5-0. In the sixth, Derek Branson entered the game on the mound for Marshall, and he was dominant. Branson kept the Mudhens scoreless, giving up one hit and striking out three over two innings.

Marshall’s Nate Hoeft delivered a two-run single in the bottom half of the seventh to stretch the team’s lead to 7-0. Minneota was finally able to get on the board in the eighth. Brock Buysse hit a leadoff single, and worked his way around the bases after a walk, passed ball, and wild pitch. The Mudhens were showing some late signs of life, after Adam Durfee was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. A’s pitcher Hoeft struck out the next batter and then forced a groundout for the third out, ending the threat and keeping the score at 7-1. After Minneota pitcher Preston Nuy completed his second scoreless inning of pitching, A’s thrower Kontz closed the door in the ninth. Mudhens batter Jesse Drager hit a bloop double to begin the inning, but Kontz prevented him from scoring, and Marshall was able to end the regular season on a positive note, winning 7-1.

Both teams now set their sights on playoffs. The A’s will travel to either Cold Spring or Sauk Rapids to participate in an eight team playoff, which will take place on August 4th or 5th. With the top four teams qualifying for state, Marshall will need to play like they did Wednesday night. “We’re going to have to buckle down,” said Coach Greenwood. “The team’s we’re playing up there are a little different than around here, and they’re all great teams.” After finishing the regular season with an 11-9 record, the Mudhens will open up postseason play at 5:00 p.m. against the Dumont Saints. The game will take place in Madison. Despite the loss, Minneota head coach Tyson Sonnenburg is pleased with his team’s overall performance this season. “I was expecting to have a good season, and I think we’re right where we expected to be.” With a winning record and a solid league mark, Minneota is soaring with confidence. “We’ve got a good squad,” said Sonnenburg. “I believe in every one of our players. I just got a lot of confidence in these guys, I wouldn’t want to play with anybody else.”

Marshall 7 Minneota 1

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Marshall 100 130 20x – 7 7 2

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