Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall pitcher Mitchell Bouwman throws from the mound during the third inning of a Corn Belt League baseball game against Granite Falls on Wednesday at Legion Field in Marshall.

MARSHALL — Mitchell Bouwman was a force of nature for the Marshall A’s in their Corn Belt League matchup against the Granite Falls Kilowatts on Wednesday night. Bouwman made a statement to help Marshall close out its final game of the year at Legion Field in style, throwing a complete-game shutout in the A’s 7-0 victory to clinch the top seed out of the Corn Belt in the Region 2C tournament next week.

“The adrenaline was just pumping. As soon as that gets going, I just try to lock in and try to finish it all by myself,” Bouwman said. “I just try to make sure that I do whatever I can to get this team a win.”

While Marshall didn’t score a run until the bottom of the seventh, Bouwman’s performance on the mound kept the A’s in control throughout. He struck out 14 batters on the day while limiting the Kilowatts to three hits and three walks. He only got stronger as the game went on as well, striking out seven of the final nine batters he faced and retiring 15 of the final 17 batters he faced.

After six innings locked in a scoreless tie, Marshall’s Ashton Blomberg broke up the stalemate with one out in the bottom of the seventh. The A’s designated hitter drew a six-pitch walk and stole second to get in scoring position. 

With Coby Brownlee at the plate facing a 3-1 count, Blomberg again jumped off the bag to try to steal third. The pitch went outside, putting Brownlee on first, and the Granite Falls throw to third to try to catch Blomberg also went wide, sailing into the outfield. Blomberg took advantage of the opportunity and rounded the bag to score the game’s first run.

The A’s padded their lead in the bottom of the eighth. Plante was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, with Logan Terfehr taking his place on first as a courtesy runner. Connor Neubeck then lined a double to left field, with the ball ricocheting off the wall on the air side of the foul pole and allowing Plante to score. 

“When there’s no outs on the board when you start the inning, you’ve got to lead it off the right way,” Plante said, saying that he felt the team gained some momentum from the leadoff hit-by-pitches and feeding off of Bouwman’s energy on the mound. “Mitch striking out that last batter coming in fired all of the guys up. The biggest thing was just to get on base somehow. Doesn’t matter how, just find a way to get on base.”

Josh Kraft kept the rally going when he reached base on an error by Bryce Sneller at short, putting runners on the corners with no outs. A pop out put one away, but Liam Kruse drove in a run with a chopper up the middle. Sneller fielded the ball and threw it to home in time, but Neubeck knocked the ball loose at the plate to score one run, and Ashton Blomberg singled in another run to make the score 4-0 in favor of the A’s.

AJ Toulouse came to bat with two outs and runners on first and second. Facing a 2-2 count, Toulouse sent a laser into left field for an RBI single. The late throw home to try to catch Kruse was errant, allowing Blomberg to round third for a run and Toulouse to advance to third base. From there, Toulouse scored on a Wichmann single to give the A’s a seven-run cushion.

“It gives you all the confidence in the world [to get that run support],” Bouwman said. He added that while he doesn’t want to need the margin for error, “it’s nice to have it in your back pocket.”

Despite the loss, Bennett Knapper did all he could to keep the Kilowatts in the game. He held Marshall without a run through six innings, and finished the day allowing three earned and four unearned runs on seven hits and four walks over eight frames. He also struck out seven batters on the day. 

“Mitch pitched well, Bennett pitched well, the way it was going, I mean, it was kind of like, ‘Who’s going to crack here defensively or break through?'” Granite Falls manager Mike Richter said. “We had a couple of errors there that gave them the first run, they got a timely hit, and that takes a lot of wind out of the sail. But I’m very proud of Bennett, I thought he pitched his butt off, and the score does not reflect what this game was.”

The Kilowatts started the game with two runners on base after Cody Dalager took a pitch to the helmet and Bennett Knapper walked. Yet, a wild pitch took a hard bounce off the backstop back to Plante, who was able to catch Dalager on the basepath to third. 

Bryce Sneller drew another walk for the Kilowatts to put runners on first and second, but Marshall pitcher Bouwman came up with consecutive strikeouts to escape the jam with the game still scoreless. The inning accounted for three of the seven baserunners Bouwman allowed in the game.

“Early on I was trying to do everything myself, and then I just had to remember that my defense can work for me,” Bouwman said. “Just adjusting to that and making sure they do the work for me, and then I just fill in the rest.”

Cream of the Crop

Marshall finishes its regular season at 13-7 overall and 8-5 in Corn Belt League play to earn the league’s top seed in the Region 2C tournament. They trailed only Bird Island (11-2) and Raymond (8-2), who will be playing in the District 8B tournament.

The finish marks an improvement from last year, in which Marshall finished 7-7 in the Corn Belt to earn the fourth seed in the 4C tournament and saw its season end with losses to Raymond and the Milroy Yankees.

“We all love each other here. Nobody hates anybody, so it’s amazing,” Plante said of the team’s growth. “We’ve been swinging the bat very, very well, pitching the ball well, just doing everything very well. Went for a couple-week slump as a team… but if we can figure it out before the playoffs, we’ll be alright.”

Charging up for the postseason

The Kilowatts are now in fifth place in the Corn Belt, putting them in position for the league’s last spot in the Region 2C tournament, which also includes the Tomahawk East League.

Richter said that he felt his team could have communicated better on some of the miscues in Wednesday’s loss, but feels that his team still maintains the talent to compete on any given day and make a run in the region tournament.

“I’m just hoping for toughness and some growth,” Richter said. “We have a very young team. There’s some experience here, but it’s young experience and every game I feel like we’re getting better, we’re getting smarter and we’re understanding it better.

“It’s a step up from high school and everything like that… It takes some time to mature and understand this level of baseball, and I think every game we’re getting better. Any time you have either one of these pitchers on the mound, you’ve got a chance to win.”

Up next

Marshall (13-7, 8-5 CBL) will go on the road to take on the Wabasso Jaxx on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before wrapping up the regular season at the Willmar Indians on Sunday at 5 p.m. From there, Marshall will prepare to take on the No. 10 seed from the Tomahawk East League in the opening round of the Region 2C tournament on July 26 in Sleepy Eye, with first pitch slated for 11 a.m.

Granite Falls, now 5-8 in the Corn Belt, will look to hold onto its playoff position when it hosts the Raymond Rockets in its regular-season finale on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

BOX SCORE

MARSHALL

B. Knapper: L, 8 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 SO.