Photo by Jake McNeill Marshall first baseman Trae Bailey (4) leaps up to make a grab during a game against Tracy at American Legion Field in Marshall on Monday. Marshall VFW Orange 15U defeated Tracy 11-0 in five innings.

MARSHALL — Every aspect of the game seemed to be in the control of the Marshall VFW Orange 15U baseball team on Monday when they hosted Tracy Junior Legion. Pitching, hitting and fielding all excelled for the home team as Marshall ran away with an 11-0 win in five innings.

“I think we’ve really hit our stride when it comes to hitting,” Marshall manager A.J. Toulouse said. “We found a lot of barrels and a lot of gaps. Guys just have been working hard in practice with our hitting and it’s really paying off now.”

Marshall jumped out to a lead in the first inning. Ethan Boeck walked, Carson Kopitski singled and Jackson Sirovy was hit by pitch to load the bases with no outs. From there, Logan Phillipe grounded into a fielder’s choice to drive in one run and Easton Greenwood hit a two-run double to give Marshall three runs of breathing room.

After a scoreless second inning, Marshall doubled its lead in the third. Trae Bailey reached first base on a line drive to center field that glanced off an outfield glove. Cannon Craigmile then grounded a slow roller toward first base and evaded a tag to put two runners on base.

A passed ball advanced both runners into scoring position and a wild pitch allowed Bailey to score the inning’s first run. Cole Raley then drew a walk to put two runners on and Ethan Boeck cleared the bases with a two-run double to increase Marshall’s lead to six runs.

Raley pitched five shutout innings for Marshall to earn the win. He held Tracy to two hits and two walks while striking out five batters. While he’s been a reliever so far this season, he looked confident in his first start. He said his focus heading into the mound appearance was to pound the strike zone and let his defense work, adding that he feels like it was an outing he can build off of as he works with assistant coach Charlie Jacobson on his pitching.

“Everyone has done a lot to really improve themselves and take the most out of it and Cole Raley’s a really good example of that,” Toulouse said. “He and Charlie have been working together a lot obviously it’s paid off. I think a lot of it is [Raley’s] mentality. He goes out there, not a care in the world, and wants to throw strikes and be successful. He showed you he can do it.”

Bailey came up big for Marshall in the bottom of the fourth. After Sirovy and Phillipe reached on a single and an error to put two runners on, Bailey drilled a triple behind Tracy outfielders for a two-run triple. 

The Orange rally continued with Craigmile following up with an RBI triple in the next at-bat and Easton Greenwood coming up with an RBI single, putting the mercy rule into play with a 10-0 Marshall lead. 

Raley singled and Boeck was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out and Carson Kopitski hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 11-0.

Aidan Sanow pitched the first three innings for Tracy, allowing five earned runs and four unearned over three frames. He allowed seven hits and three walks on the day before being relieved with no outs in the fourth.

In relief, Brody Hauger allowed two earned runs on three hits over one frame.

Kopitski, Craiglmile and Greenwood each had a pair of hits for Marshall, with Craigmile also drawing a walk. Craigmile and Bailey each tripled with Greenwood and Boeck each doubled.

Sanow doubled for Tracy while Griffin Zick added a single.

Marshall, now 10-5 on the season, will return to action today when it takes on Sleepy Eye at the Irish Yard. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m.

“We’re battling through it all. Four games just yesterday [Sunday] and another one tomorrow and another one Thursday,” Toulouse said. “We’re working game-by-game and it’s a lot of fun for these guys that they get to play and we’re giving a lot of guys opportunities.”

Tracy will continue to search for its first win when the junior legion squad takes on Lamberton on the road today. Tracy Manager James Fultz said that while it was a tough day for the squad on Monday, he was encouraged by the fact that his hitters were consistently disciplined enough to lay off bad pitches at the plate.