Photo by Samantha Davis: Marshall corner infielder Braxton Koster hits a pitch during an American Legion baseball game against Renner, S.D. in the Marshall Wood Bat Tournament on Saturday at Legion Field in Marshall. The Mudcats defeated Renner 8-0 in five innings in group play, and Marshall went on to finish as tournament runners-up to Alexandria.

MARSHALL — After three consecutive mercy-rule wins to start the Wood Bat Tournament, the Marshall Mudcats finished as runners-up to the Alexandria American Legion baseball team on Sunday.

“If you look at the whole tournament, I’m proud of these guys and their effort,” Marshall manager Mitch Maxwell said. “We ended up in the championship game against a well-coached Alexandria team. We’re making improvement and that’s what our summer baseball program is all about: how do we get better and progress as we go?”

With a heat index approaching 100 degrees on both days of the weekend, the Mudcats picked up an 8-0 win over Renner (S.D.) in five innings and a 9-1 win over Barnum/Moose Lake/Willow River in six innings on Saturday, wrapping up pool play with a 3-0 record after Friday’s 13-5 win in five innings over Kasson-Mantorville. Yet, Alexandria put together a five-run inning to beat Marshall 5-3 in the championship round.

“Just continue to play how we play. You never take anything for granted and never assume anything, so we’re just going through the grindstone through the whole tournament to get to this point,” Maxwell said. “Playing teams like that is going to make you better.”

Marshall now sits at 5-5 on the season and returns to action today at 6 p.m., when it hosts Springfield at Legion Field.

Renner (S.D.) 0 (5 inn.)

The Marshall Mudcats continued to execute in all phases of the game in their second pool play game, beating Renner 8-0 in five innings for their second straight mercy-rule win to start the tournament.

“We always talk in our program about pitching, defense and timely hitting,” Maxwell said. “Guys are doing a nice job of seeing the ball at the plate, not trying to do too much, staying within themselves … We led the game off with [Andrew] Stelter and [Eli] Weedman doubles, then guys did their job after that.”

The Mudcats took an early lead with a pair of runs in the opening and third inning off a trio of RBIs, and continued to keep the bats active along with a solid pitching performance by Logan Miller to carry Marshall the rest of the way.

Miller tossed all five innings, throwing four strikeouts while allowing one walk and two hits.

“Great job by Logan Miller on the mound. That always helps, when you can get back in the dugout and continue to be at the plate,” Maxwell said.

Weedman went 3 for 4 at the plate with a team-high three RBIs, while Stelter hit 2 for 3 and Josh Kraft went 2 for 2.

Overall, Marshall finished with 10 hits and one error to Renner’s two hits and one error.

Stelter and Weedman got the bats started for Marshall promptly in the first inning, both hitting back-to-back line-drive doubles to right and left field. The two both scored off a Kraft double to center field, who also reached third on the same play off a Renner error, to put the Mudcats up 2-0.

“He’s [Kraft] a senior and it’s his birthday, so that never hurts to do something like that on your birthday,” Maxwell said. “Josh does a really good job for us, and he’s going to play at SMSU [Southwest Minnesota State University]. I just think he has a really good demeanor. He’s never too high, he’s never too low, and I’m confident with him at the plate.”

Stelter, Weedman and Kraft all hit doubles in the game.

After a scoreless second inning, a two-run RBI single from Braxton Koster brought in Stelter and Kraft with a hit to short left field to extend Marshall’s early lead.

Stelter initially got on base with an infield single, and Kraft reached on a ground-ball double up the third-base line.

A three-run fourth inning essentially put the dagger on Marshall’s victory to build a 7-0 lead, continuing to put runners in scoring position.

Shep Jensen and Stelter scored off Weedman and JR Vierstraete RBI singles, while Levi Maeyaert was given home from third with a walk while bases were loaded.

Jensen got on base with a hit by pitch, and Stelter was walked originally.

Marshall ended the game in the bottom of the fifth with a Weedman RBI off a fly ball to deep center field to run in Jensen, who was first hit by a pitch to reach base and moved to third with a Tyson Louwagie single to right field.

The tournament’s mercy rule took place with a team up by eight runs beginning in the fifth.

“We just [have to] stay focused and take care of business, that’s the biggest thing,” Maxwell said. “We know what we need to do to get there, and we just need to execute.”

Marshall 9,

BMW 1 (6 inn.)

Marshall rattled off a six-run second inning to overcome an early deficit. The Mudcats’ pitching and defense held BMW off the board for the remainder of the game as Marshall claimed a 9-1 win.

“I just let them hit the ball and let my players make plays,” Weedman said of his complete-game pitching performance. “I knew they [my teammates] were going to put up eight [runs]… because we’ve been finding the barrels this weekend.”

Koster reached second base on an error to start the second inning before scoring on a Maeyaert single. The hits only continued to come from there.

With one out, Clayton Jones singled in Maeyaert and Leyton Wherry and Jensen singled and walked to load the bases. Stelter then hit a sacrifice fly to score Jones, and RBI singles from Weedman and Kraft made the score 6-1.

Weedman pitched all six innings for Marshall. After allowing an earned run in the first, he closed his day with five more shutout innings. While he didn’t strike out any batters, he also didn’t walk any and limited BMW to four hits.

“I just go out there, throw strikes and get them out,” Weedman said of his approach to pitching on the 100-degree day. “I feel like we can really build on this momentum.”

Stelter led off the sixth with a double, advanced on a passed ball and scored on a fly-ball single to left field from Koster to end the game via mercy rule, 9-1.

Marshall bolstered its lead in the third when Maeyaert was hit by a pitch, stole second, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jones.

BMW took an early lead on an RBI single with two outs. Yet, Kraft made a precise throw from behind the plate to catch a runner stealing and end the inning without further damage, and Marshall shut out BMW for the remainder of the game.

A Weedman single and a Kraft double put runners in scoring position in the fourth, and Koster hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring Marshall within one run of the mercy rule.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Marshall 3

Alexandria’s five-run fourth inning was too much for Marshall to overcome in the Wood Bat Tournament championship on Sunday morning. The Mudcats fought their way back into the game after the early deficit, but fell 5-3 to finish as tournament runners-up.

“Some of it’s baseball. What we did all weekend against a very good Renner, South Dakota team, we pieced things together when we needed to, so I think that’s what they [Alexandria] were able to do,” Maxwell said. “They pieced some things together and took advantage of every base. To eliminate that, we just need to be a little better in those spots and try to eliminate that and get out of those innings a little bit earlier.”

A single, a hit batter and a pick-off error put two runners in scoring position when a ground out gave Alexandria the game’s first run, and an RBI double gave the visitors a 2-0 lead.

With two outs and a runner on third, Alexandria got three RBI singles, with a walk in the middle, to take a commanding 5-0 lead.

The matchup was the second of the season between Marshall and Alexandria after the Mudcats fell 7-1 to them in Alexandria on June 13. The games were similar in that Alexandria got most of their offense in one inning in both, Maxwell noted, with Alexandria scoring five third-inning runs last time around.

Maxwell added that he has a lot of respect for the Alexandria coaching staff and that he’s excited to see them again down the road.

Aside from the fourth inning, Marshall put together quality pitching and defense with six error-free shutout innings. Still, Logan Phillippe was tagged with the loss after giving up three earned runs on five hits over 3 1/3 innings, and Koster gave up another two earned runs on three hits and a walk while getting two outs.

“I think defensively we were playing really well,” Maxwell said, noting that Phillippe earned his second quality start of the season. Maxwell also said that the team intended to mix in a handful of arms after the long weekend, and that Koster and Kraft pitched well, though Koster was hurt by some unfortunate bounces.

Kraft closed out the game on the mound with three shutout innings. He struck out four batters while allowing one run and three walks, but lacked the run support to get Marshall back in the game.

“Kraft hasn’t thrown a lot because of an arm issue in the spring, but today I thought he looked really sharp,” Maxwell said. “Great downward plane, got into a grove and comfortable, and was able to mix in a couple of off-speed pitches.”

The Mudcats responded to Alexandria’s rally with a run of their own in the fourth. Weedman walked, advanced on a passed ball and scored on a Kraft single with two outs. Maeyaert scored an inning later when he reached second on an error, advanced to third on a Jensen single and scored on a passed ball.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Mudcats battled their way back into the game with their backs against the wall and facing a three-run deficit. Deagan Maurice led off the frame with a single and walks to Stelter and Kruse loaded the bases with two outs.

Kraft then reached base on an error to drive in one run, and advance the tying run to second, but a fly out to center field ended any hopes of a comeback.

Kruse, Maurice, Kraft and Vierstraete each had a hit in the game with Maurice’s double being the Mudcats’ lone extra-base hit. Kruse was the lone Mudcat to reach base twice, also getting on with a walk.