Photo by Travis Rosenau/The Journal, New Ulm: Marshall catcher Deagan Maurice tags out Waseca’s Keaton Roeker at home plate during a Sub-State 2 Legion Baseball Tournament game on Wednesday at Mueller Park in New Ulm.

NEW ULM — Having to battle back in an elimination bracket isn’t something Marshall Legion Post 113 is unfamiliar with, but it didn’t expect to be in that spot so soon.

With a 6-2 upset win in the first round of the Sub-State 2 Legion Baseball Tournament Wednesday afternoon at Mueller Park, sixth-seeded Waseca dropped third-seeded Marshall to the tournament’s elimination bracket.

Marshall will play at 11:30 a.m. Thursday against seventh-seeded Northfield at Mueller Park. A win moves the winner on to a 4 p.m. elimination bracket game at Johnson Park later that evening, while a loss ends the loser’s season.

Waseca will play second-seeded Mankato National in a winners’ bracket game at 2 p.m. at Mueller Park on Thursday.

While Marshall made contact at the plate Wednesday, Waseca starting righty Sabastian Teague didn’t allow much of that contact to mean anything. Teague scattered six hits and no walks for just one earned run in 6 1/3 innings while striking out three.

Marshall starting right-hander Liam Kruse allowed five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings on eight hits, three walks and a hit batsman while striking out seven.

“We came into the game with the philosophy that you always have and that’s that you have to compete against yourself,” Marshall manager Mitch Maxwell said. “We’ve had a great season so far and it was highlighted by doing exactly that — competing against yourself and competing with yourself and not worrying about anybody else. Hats off to them … their pitcher threw a great game, they small-balled us a little bit, and defensively we have to make those plays when we’re given the opportunity and today we just didn’t do that.”

Waseca jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first after a leadoff walk by Tyson J. Reger and a single by Payton Garza got things started. A bunt by Keaton Roeker ended up turning into a bunt single and advancing all runners a base, but a late throw to first got away for an error and led to Reger and Garza both scoring and Roeker taking second.

Teague later ended up grounding out to score another run for Waseca and put his team up 3-0. Kedrik Volkmann and Shane Engel each had back-to-back singles, but Kruse got a strikeout to end the damage.

Andrew Stelter led off the bottom of the inning with a single and stole second before Teague got back-to-back outs to bring up Josh Kraft, who doubled into left to score Stelter and have Marshall down 3-1.

Waseca got a run back in the second thanks to an error and took a 6-1 lead in the fourth on a bunt and a wild pitch.

Stelter got his second hit of the game in the seventh with one out to drive in Coby Brownlee, who singled earlier, but Reger took the mound after that for Waseca and got a groundout and strikeout to end the game.

Waseca was led at the plate by Reger, who was 2 for 2 with a pair of walks, while Engel was 2 for 3 and Garza was 2 for 4.

Logan Miller pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for Marshall, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out two. Brownlee got the final out in the top of the seventh for Marshall in relief with a strikeout.

Stelter was 2 for 4 to lead Marshall at the plate, while Braxton Koster added a double.

“We’ve played a lot of baseball this summer,” Maxwell said. “It’s a good group of guys, one bad game a season does not make. I’ve also been doing this long enough to know you can make your way through the loser bracket, too. We had a few years ago we were in this same subdistrict and came back, were a game away from the championship, so we know what it takes to do that. I have faith in this group, they love to play baseball and we have to show up [Thursday] ready to compete