Photo by Sam Thiel Marshall’s Mason Penske delivers a pitch during their game against Raymond on Friday. The A’s fell to the Rockets 6-3.

MARSHALL – The Marshall amateur baseball team looked to close out its final homestand of the regular season with a pair of wins, starting with a matchup against the Raymond Rockets on Friday. The A’s battled back in the ninth with a spirited rally, but came up short as Raymond held on for the 6-3 victory at Legion Field.

Neither team found scoring in the first, with both team’s starting pitchers settling into their respective zones. The Rockets led off the top of the second with a single before getting a sacrifice bunt to put a runner on second with one out. After a flyout and a wild pitch advanced the runner to third, the A’s got out of the frame with a groundout to maintain the scoreless start.

Marshall had a chance to get on the board in the bottom half of the inning, as Barry Meyer got the first base hit for the A’s with a two-out single before advancing to second on an error. Logan Tomasek then drew a walk, but Marshall couldn’t take advantage as the game remained scoreless through two.

Raymond then broke through on the offensive end in the next inning, getting a single and an error before an RBI double and an RBI sacrifice fly quickly put the Rockets ahead 2-0. Marshall got a one-out single from Ryan VanMoer in the bottom half of the third, but Raymond once again found a way to get out of the inning with two quick outs to keep a two-run lead.

After Raymond couldn’t find a run in the top of the fourth, the A’s led off the bottom half of the frame with a single from Jon Ellis before Meyer smacked a one-out single and Tomasek drew a walk to load the bases. The Rockets defense would stay strong, however, getting a double play on the ensuing batter to get out of the jam.

After a scoreless fifth, Raymond added to its lead in the sixth, using a one-out walk and an error to put runners on the corners. The Rockets then drew back-to-back walks to bring in a run and make it 3-0 before Marshall got two quick outs to end the inning.

The A’s wouldn’t go down without a fight, though, as Ellis got Marshall on the board with a blast to right field for a solo home run and make it 3-1. Marshall would get a pair of hits and a walk to load the bases with two outs, but the A’s couldn’t tack on any more runs in the frame.

After a 1-2-3 inning from Raymond, the A’s got the bottom half of the frame started when VanMoer reached on an error, but the Rockets quickly ended the scoring threat with three straight outs to maintain the two-run advantage.

The Rockets then kicked off the eighth with a leadoff single and a walk before a sacrifice play put runners in scoring position with one out. Raymond then loaded the bases on a hit batter before a bloop RBI single extended the lead to 4-1. After a wild pitch made it 5-1, the Rockets brought in another run on a sacrifice fly to push their advantage to 6-1.

Marshall had a final chance to put some offense together in the bottom of the ninth, and got off to a good start.

The A’s were able to load the bases up with nobody out before a fielder’s choice and an error helped plate two Marshall runs to cut the deficit to 6-3. Unfortunately for the A’s, that would be as close as they could get, with the Rockets taking the road win by three runs.

Marshall will host its final game of the season with a 5 p.m. matchup against the Willmar Rails on Sunday.