Photo by Sam Thiel Marshall’s Jacob Hughes (12) embraces teammate Jack Bly (left) while Charlie Jacobson (16) and Talan Plante (19) wait to congratulate them after they defeated New Ulm 6-5 in the Section 2AAA tournament on Saturday.

NEW ULM — After opening their postseason with a strong 11-3 victory against Waconia, the third-seeded Marshall baseball team looked to maintain the momentum in the next round of the Section 2AAA tournament. Going up against an opponent that had bested them twice during the regular season in New Ulm, MHS found themselves in a four-run deficit near the midway mark of Saturday’s third meeting.

But Marshall dug deep and slowly worked its way back to a two-run lead before holding off a late rally attempt by the Eagles in the final inning to earn a 6-5 come-from-behind victory.

Marshall coach Chace Pollock said he was extremely proud of the way his team battled and never gave up.

“Proud of our guys and words can’t describe it,” Pollock said. “It was such an up-and-down game and we kept battling. I’m just really happy for the guys.”

It was a pitcher’s duel to start, as Marshall’s Charlie Jacobson and New Ulm’s Sam Keckeisen kept each side off the board for the first two and a half innings. The Eagles then struck first in the bottom of the third, getting a two-out walk before a single and another walk loaded the bases. New Ulm would take advantage, plating four runs on a single and a triple to give the Eagles a 4-0 lead after three.

Marshall wouldn’t go down without a fight, though, and answered in the next half-inning when Cole Felcyn got hit by a pitch before Brock Schultz drove in a run with an RBI triple to get MHS on the board. Marshall wasn’t done there, as Jack Bly got hit by a pitch to lead off the fifth before AJ Toulouse connected on a single and Josh Baker smacked a two-run double to bring them to within one at 4-3.

After MHS escaped a jam on defense in the bottom of the inning with a double play on an infield fly, it looked to continue its momentum on the offensive end. After Schultz connected on a single, Tyler Maeyaert lined a single and Bly drew a walk to load the bases with one out in the sixth. Jacob Hughes then tied the game on a sacrifice fly and Toulouse quickly put Marshall in front at 5-4 with an RBI single.

New Ulm went down in order in the bottom of the frame, setting the stage for the thrilling finish. Marshall got the seventh started with a one-out double by Connor Neubeck before Felcyn got a single to plate Neubeck and push Marshall’s lead to 6-4. The Eagles would respond by loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the frame before an RBI groundout drew New Ulm to within one at 6-5. An intentional walk loaded the bases again, but Marshall’s Bly would get a flyout to short to get out of the jam and seal the victory.

Schultz led Marshall with three hits and an RBI while Toulouse had two hits and an RBI, Baker had a hit and two RBI, Felcyn had a hit and an RBI, Neubeck, Jacobson and Maeyaert each had a hit and Hughes had an RBI.

Pollock said their key on offense was their ability to take advantage of the situation at the plate and felt everybody had a key contribution.

“We had some clutch hitting and had good situational hitting,” Pollock said. “Every guy contributed, there wasn’t one guy that really stood out, it was just a team win. That’s what we talked about after the game, everybody had a role in this one.”

Bly earned the victory in relief, going 2 2/3 innings while allowing one run on two hits. Jacobson earned the start, going 4 1/3 innings while allowing four runs on four hits and struck out four.

Up next

Marshall (14-6) advances to the Section 2AAA semifinal game and will face No. 1 Mankato West (20-1) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in New Ulm. Mankato West edged No. 4 Mankato East 5-4 on Saturday and is the top-ranked team in Class AAA.

Marshall 6, New Ulm 5

Marshall 000 122 1 – 6 10 0

New Ulm 004 000 1 – 5 6 0

Hitting: Marshall (Baker 1-4, 2 RBI; Neubeck 1-4; Felcyn 1-3, RBI; Schultz 3-4, RBI; Jacobson 1-3; Maeyaert 1-2; Hughes RBI; Toulouse 2-3, RBI).

Pitching (IP-R-ER-H-BB-SO): Marshall (Jacobson 4.1-4-4-4-5-4; Bly 2.2-1-1-2-1-0).