Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall pitcher Eli Weedman throws a pitch during a baseball game against Tri-City United in the Substate G Junior Legion Tournament at Legion Field in Marshall on Wednesday. Marshall picked up a pair of elimination bracket wins over TCU and Hutchinson to keep their season alive on Wednesday.

MARSHALL — Marshall was bopped down to the elimination bracket in the first day of the Substate G Junior Legion District Tournament on Tuesday but avenged itself with a pair of victories on Wednesday. No. 4 Marshall Black opened its elimination bracket run with a decisive 10-0 win over No. 9 Tri-City United in six innings and then got some comeuppance with an 8-2 win over Hutchinson to advance to the elimination semifinals today at 11 a.m. against Mankato East.

Game 1

Marshall 10, TCU 0

Eli Weedman put Black in position to win with six scoreless innings on the hill. The rising Marshall High School junior held TCU to one hit and one walk on the day while striking out three batters.

“He worked really quick and you can play defense behind that, so that’s fun,” Marshall manager Chace Pollock said of Weedman’s performance. “Slower pace, methodical, your defenders can fall asleep behind it. He did a good job of attacking the strike zone, threw a [one-hitter], so that’s pretty good for Weedy.”

Marshall held a narrow 1-0 lead until they cracked the game open in the fourth inning. Shep Jensen was hit by a pitch, Levi Maeyeart walked and Tyson Louwagie beat out a bunt single to load the bases with one out.

The first run of the inning came when Leyton Wherry was hit by a pitch to force in Jensen, doubling the Marshall lead. JR Vierstraete then drove in another run when he reached base on a fielder’s choice and, after Weedman was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, Logan Phillippe hit a two-run single into right-center field for a 5-0 Marshall lead.

TCU put two runners on with no outs in the fifth, courtesy of a Marshall error on a ground ball and a single to shallow left. Yet, Chase Alcorn came up with a quick glove and a quality throw to get a 5-3 double play and catcher Levi Maeyaert fielded a popped-up bunt just beyond the dirt to get Marshall out of the jam.

Marshall scored the game’s opening run in the bottom of the first. After Weedman retired the side in order in the top of the frame, Alcorn opened the bottom with a leadoff double. Alcorn advanced to third on a passed ball and then scored on a Maeyaert ground out, giving Marshall a lead it retained for the remainder of the game. 

Alcorn and Louwagie each had a pair of hits for Marshall. Louwagie also tied Phillippe with a game-high two RBIs, while Phillippe logged a single and two walks on the day. As a team, Marshall recorded eight hits from six different batters while limiting TCU to one hit.

“Everybody contributed today,” Pollock said. “This is the best we’ve hit the ball in a long time. We’ve been kind of slumping a little bit and I’m proud of the guys. When you just keep playing, you’re bound to come out of it and that’s what happened today.”

Patrick O’Malley tossed the first four innings for TCU, allowing four earned runs and one unearned on three hits and a pair of walks. Kellen Jirik tossed the game’s final three innings, allowing three earned runs and two unearned runs on five hits and a walk.

Marshall added on another insurance run in the fifth. Jensen led off the inning by reaching base when the TCU first baseman made an error trying to pick the throw. Jensen advanced to second as the ball bounced over toward the dugout and got to third base on a Maeyaert single. Tyson Louwagie then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in Jensen, increasing the Marshall cushion to six runs. 

Heading into the bottom of the sixth, Marshall needed four runs to seal the victory and they went out and got them. Weedman led off the inning with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball to make the score 7-0.

Phillippe walked and Alcorn singled to bring the tying run to the plate. After a ground out advanced the runners to scoring position, Clayton Jones hit a sacrifice fly to score Phillippe. Carson Kopitski was then hit by a pitch to put two on and, after Alcorn scored on a pickoff error, Louwagie lined a single to left field to score Kopitski for the clinching run.

Game 2

Marshall 8, Hutchinson 2

Hutchinson got on the board in the bottom of the first when Hunter Welsch hit an RBI double and scored on a pair of wild pitches. From there, however, it was all Marshall.

The host team surged ahead in the second inning, starting with a pair of singles from Tyson Louwagie and JR Vierstraete to put runners on the corners with one out. Louwagie scored on a passed ball to tie up the game and an RBI double from Leyton Wherry gave Marshall a 2-1 lead.

Marshall pitcher Chase Alcorn never let Hutchinson get back into the game. After the unearned run in the first, he finished the day with five innings pitched and no additional runs allowed. He struck out six batters while limiting Hutchinson to two hits and a walk.

Eli Weedman earned the win on the mound in Marshall’s first game of the day, tossing six shutout innings on only 68 pitches. His efficiency on the hill allowed him to come back for game 2 with something left in the tank. He tossed two innings to earn the save, limiting Hutchinson to one unearned run on one hit and a pair of strikeouts. He didn’t walk or hit any batters. 

“He had some pitches left on the day, he’d only thrown 68, so he had some left to burn and we used them all up,” Pollock said. “We’re going to lose him no matter what, so we might as well use him and not use somebody else that we can use the rest of the way.”

In the third inning, Shep Jensen put a ball in play toward second and a Hutchinson error allowed him to get all the way to second on the play. After a wild pitch moved him to third, Levi Maeyaert lined a single into right field to make the score 3-1.

Alcorn crossed the plate for Marshall in the fifth. He singled, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball. Jensen walked to get on base and attempted to steal second, but an errant throw from the Hutchinson catcher allowed Jensen to reach safely and Alcorn to spring home for a 4-1 Marshall lead. 

Alcorn and Wherry each had a double and a single for Marshall in the game while Jensen also had a double. As a team, Marshall outhit Hutchinson 9-3. Jensen and Levi Maeyaert each accounted for a walk.

“If you take breaks off, you’re not accustomed to seeing live pitching and you kind of fall into a slump,” Pollock said. “Guys are starting to really get into a rhythm hitting and I like the way we’re coming around hitting the ball.”

After Hutchinson got a run back in the bottom of the sixth, Marshall ran away with the game in the top of the seventh. Alcorn and Jensen hit back-to-back doubles to bring in one run to start the inning and, after Jensen stole third and Maeyaert walked, Louwagie reached on an error to drive in another run. After a Hutchinson pitching change, Weedman reached base on Hutchinson’s fifth error of the day to drive in Maeyaert and Louwagie to give Marshall a six-run cushion.

The extra four runs proved unnecessary as Weedman retired the side in order to seal the win.

Marshall will head into a gauntlet today at Legion Field. They’ll open play against No. 3 Mankato East at 11 a.m. With a win, they would play the loser of No. 1 New Ulm and No. 2 Mankato West at 4 p.m.

“We just need to throw strikes,” Pollock said. “Today was a great day. We played 13 innings and allowed [4] hits. That doesn’t happen very often, just need to keep it going tomorrow. Throw some new guys out there and see what they can do.”