“Honestly, just getting the young guys in [helped us], and they’re doing a really good job,” Owen Kesteloot said of the win. “We were keeping them [Volga] to as little [opportunities] as possible, and hits too, and stuff like that.”

Jake Eben and Kesteloot also split pitching duties and had productive performances, with the defense to back them up.

Marshall was quick to get to action and brought in three runs in the first inning in the A’s first plate appearance.

Leadoff batter Cody Wichmann was hit by a pitch to reach base, proceeded to steal second and scored the first run on a Connor Neubeck RBI single with a hard ground ball to right field.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Marshall's Charlie Jacobson catches a foul ball outside of left field on Sunday night against Volga, South Dakota, at Legion Field in Marshall.

Andrew Stelter was also hit at the plate after Wichmann, and scored on a fly-ball single from Josh Kraft. Neubeck accounted for the final run of the inning with the help of a ground-out from Charlie Jacobson.

Marshall kept chipping away at its lead and connecting at the plate, building up to a 5-0 edge following the third inning.

“To be honest, we have seen a lot harder pitching, and I guess bouncing off of that, we were just on time [at the plate], and we have some pretty good hitters, too,” Kesteloot said regarding what Marshall was seeing at the plate.

AJ Toulouse scored in the second inning, first being hit by a pitch, on a Stelter RBI single. Kraft then continued the momentum in the following frame, scoring on a Jackson Sirovy base hit.

After Volga got on the board with a run in the top of the sixth, Marshall was able to put together a response with another pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh. Both Tyler Wichmann and Tyler Kraft scored after Zach Olsen hit a two-run RBI single on the first pitch he saw, being a hard line drive to center field.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Marshall's Tyler Wichmann touches second base and throws to first to complete a double play on Sunday night against Volga, South Dakota, at Legion Field in Marshall.

Tyler Wichmann was hit by a pitch, while Tyler Kraft had a single to reach base.

Volga attempted to embark on a late rally in the final inning, and scored two more runs following a pair of RBIs. Yet, the A’s put a quick halt to the potential comeback and ended the game with a Braxton Koster fly-ball catch at first and a pair of Marshall fielder’s choice plays.

Marshall successfully completed three double plays to highlight the win, in the third, fourth and sixth innings, all of which came on infield plays between first and second base.

Josh Kraft led the A’s offense, going 2 for 3 at the plate with an RBI and a run.

Marshall overall also stood strong at the plate, with five different batters getting hit at the plate, including Stelter twice.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Marshall's Jake Eben throws a pitch on Sunday night against Volga, South Dakota, at Legion Field in Marshall.

Eben started on the mound for the first five innings and was charged with the win, and retired four batters while allowing two hits. Kesteloot came in for the save the remainder of the night, striking out two while allowing four hits with no walks.

“Jake did an amazing job. Then, I just came in and closed it down for him,” Kesteloot said. “Just taking it day by day, and seeing how things go.”

The A’s finished the game with nine hits and one error to Volga’s six hits and no errors.

Marshall improves its record to 6-6 on the season, and will look to keep the momentum going when it hits the road to the Milroy Irish (7-6) on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. first pitch at the Irish Yard.

BOX SCORE

Photo by Samantha Davis: Marshall's Cody Wichmann throws to first base for an out on Sunday night against Volga, South Dakota, at Legion Field in Marshall.

BATTING

C. Wichmann: 0-4, R; A. Stelter: 1-1, R, RBI; T. Wichmann: 1-1, R; C. Neubeck: 1-2, R, RBI; J. Kraft: 2-3, R, RBI; T. Kraft: 1-1, R; L. Kruse: 0-2, BB; C. Jacobson: 0-1, RBI; C. Mensink: 1-2; Z. Olsen: 1-1, 2 RBI; J. Sirovy: 1-4, RBI; A. Toulouse: 0-2, R.

PITCHING

J. Eben: 5.1 IP, 4 SO, 2 H, ER, 4 BB; O. Kesteloot: 3.2 IP, 2 SO, 4 H, 2 ER.