Photo by Samantha Davis. JR Vierstraete and Eli Weedman hi-five after running home in a 7-4 win over Mankato East on Thursday at Legion Field. Marshall then went on to defeat Mankato West 15-4 and will play in Friday's championship game at noon.

MARSHALL — After moving down to the elimination bracket after a game one loss in the Sub-State G Junior Legion District Tournament on Tuesday, No. 4 Marshall continued to fight their way back on their home field with a 7-4 victory against No. 2 Mankato East Thursday afternoon. Hours later, they defeated No. 3 Mankato West 15-4.  

Marshall will play in the championship game Friday at Legion Field at noon against first-seed New Ulm.

Marshall 7, Mankato East 4

Marshall Black played two games on Wednesday, defeating No. 9 Tri-City 10-0 and No. 5 Hutchinson 8-2. With both teams this afternoon pitching four scoreless innings, it was Marshall’s active batting in the first and sixth innings that kept them on top.

Tyson Louwagie pitched the first three for Marshall, allowing eight hits and three runs. Clayton Jones took over the rest of the game, with three hits and one run. The two collectively had one strikeout. Mason Diede pitched most of the game for Mankato, allowing four hits and three runs while completing six strikeouts.

Leyton Wherry led the offense for Marshall, with three hits, one run and two RBIs with three at-bats.

“It’s survive and advance at this point,” manager Chace Pollock said. “You lose and you’re done. We just wanted to keep our season going.”  

Early on, it was clear the game would be tightly contested.

Marshall quickly got the day going in their favor, bringing in four runs in their first at-bat. With the bases loaded, JR Vierstrate was hit by a pitch, advancing each player a base. Mankato East changed pitchers with two outs. Louwagie scored on a wild pitch, followed by a double to left field from Wherry to bring in two more, with Marshall up 4-0 going into the second.

Mankato was able to respond over the next two innings. They got a run on the board in the top of the second, with a line-drive single from Logan Hasz as Tyler Blaschko scored from third. A couple more hits from Alex Fast, Dawson Miller and Koltin Kolbinger brought in two more. Mankato cut the deficit, heading into the bottom of the third down 4-3.

After Clayton Jones took the mound for Marshall in the top of the fourth, the game remained stagnant over the next few innings, holding the same score.

Four scoreless innings from Marshall allowed Mankato to tie the game in the top of the sixth. Blaschko advanced to second and third on a Marshall field error and later came in on a single fly ball from Diede.

Two running center field catches from Wherry helped to end the inning and bring Marshall back to the bats.

“Pitchers threw strikes, and that’s the bottom line,” Pollock said. “We didn’t walk many guys and didn’t give them any free bases. If we do that, good things are going to happen.”

Marshall retook the lead 7-4 in the bottom of the sixth, changing the momentum and securing the chance to play again in the afternoon. A single from Wherry got him on base, and he advanced to second with a sacrifice bunt from Jones. Tyler Kraft doubled to left field and brought in Wherry safely.

The bats didn’t stop there, as Chase Alcorn tripled and brought in pinch-runner Logan Phillippe. Alcorn came home for another run on a sacrifice out in right field.

“It [the sixth inning] was huge,” Pollock said. “Everybody was contributing there and it was good to see us put something together.”

With a will to survive on the line, Marshall didn’t allow Mankato to score in the top of the seventh and secured the win to advance to the quarterfinals later that afternoon against No. 3 Mankato West.  

“We knew we were going to have a good opponent,” Pollock said. “We came out, we played well and we are excited to play another one.”

Marshall 15, Mankato West 4

Marshall made it clear their season wasn’t going to end Thursday. Coming off a fresh win against East just hours prior, Marshall took down No. 3 Mankato West, who dropped a game to top-seeded New Ulm right before start time. Both teams faced the pressure of losing and going home.

Jones pitched the first four innings for Marshall with three strikeouts while Louwagie finished the game in the fifth inning with another strikeout. Several players contributed at the plate, led by Shep Jensen with three hits, three RBIs and a run. Eli Weedman also added another three hits, two RBIs and a run.

“Ecstatic, this is a blast,” Pollock said after the game. “This is the way baseball is supposed to be played, and I’m just happy for the kids.”

Alcorn got the game going on the first pitch with a line-drive single to center field. Another single to left field got Levi Maeyaert on base. Both runners advanced to third and second on a wild pitch. With Weedman up to bat and two outs, a fly ball catch to center field closed the top of the first.

West was the first to touch home with a hit to center field, bringing in Trevor Sheldrup and making it 1-0 in the bottom of the first.

With a close call for Mankato to score more in the second with two on base and one out, Alcorn cultivated a saving double play by tagging third and a strong throw to first.

Marshall took the lead 2-1 in the top of the third with a hit to center field from Louwagie that brought in Maeyaert from second. Weedman then singled on a line drive to left field, advancing to second on the same play, as Louwagie ran in.

Marshall continued to capitalize on offense in the top of the fourth with 10 runs, extending their lead to 12-1, which ultimately decided the game.

“We are just seeing the ball and we are hitting the ball hard,” Pollock said. “We just need to keep it rolling and keep up the good work.”

Carson Kopitski scored on a double from Alcorn that also advanced Phillippe to third, who ran in after a Jensen single. Alcorn and Jensen themselves got home after a double from Maeyaert. With an error at third base, Eli Alcorn, pinch runner for Maeyaert, was able to run in off a single from Weedman.

The bats didn’t slow down there.

Kopitski came back to the plate, with another hit to center field that brought in Sheldrup. Bases were loaded and a walk got Wherry home for another. Kopitski next ran in from a passed ball.

Jensen wanted another hit himself and tripled on a line drive to center field, bringing in three more runs. Mankato then was able to secure the last out to end Marshall’s hot inning.

Marshall quickly got back to batting, bringing in three more runs for a 15-1 lead in top of the fifth. Louwagie scored after a balk by Mankato’s pitcher. Weedman also came in after a Kopitski single, and Vierstraete got home after a sacrifice groundout from Phillippe.

Mankato got bats going in the bottom of the fifth, although it wasn’t enough for a comeback.

Jaxson Zimmerman scored after Sheldrup hit a ground ball and acquired a Marshall field error. With bases loaded, two outs and Charlie Berhow up to the plate, he hit a double to bring in two more runs.

Louwagie struck out West for the final out of the game, and Marshall secured the ticket to defend their home plate in Friday’s title game.

“It’s perseverance and mindset,” Pollock said about the team’s journey in this tournament. “We talked after our first game a lot about mindset. I thought our mindset has been great.”

New Ulm still plays without a loss in this tournament. If they fall to Marshall in the first game, another one will take place shortly after.

“Take it one pitch at a time and one out at a time,” Pollock said. “We will see what happens.”