Mudcats rally, take 2 from Gold in sub-state finals
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MANKATO -- The Marshall Mudcats knew they already had a state tournament berth in their pocket heading into Saturday's DI Senior Legion Sub-State 2 Baseball Tournament finals, but they still wanted that sub-state championship to go with it.
After rallying to defeat the New Ulm Legion Gold 5-3 in eight innings to force a second and final championship game, the Mudcats held off a Gold comeback in the second game to win 5-4 and finish as Sub-State 2 champions.
After going unbeaten in the winners bracket of the tournament with a 4-0 mark, the Gold needed just one win Saturday to finish as sub-state champs. Despite trailing 3-0 entering the seventh inning of the first game, Marshall scored three runs in the inning to tie it and scored two more in the eighth to complete the comeback and force Game 2.
Game 2 saw the Gold rally back from a 5-0 hole to trail 5-4, but the Mudcats hung on with a 1-2-3 seventh inning to win the title.
Both teams entered the day already guaranteed a state tournament spot this coming week in New Ulm, being that New Ulm got an automatic berth by playing host. However, both teams wanted the bragging rights of being the Sub-State 2 champions and the momentum heading into state.
"It feels better winning it, but you know New Ulm is going to be a tough team," Marshall assistant coach Jared Fry said. "It's kind of balancing knowing you already have a spot in state, but it is really nice to win, so there's just a lot of talking with coach Maxwell and getting a game plan. … At the end of the day, we want to be set up to go to state well. Just that balance of it all, and I'm sure [the Gold] were a little bit in the same boat with that, but every game we've had with them this year has been crazy, so it just wasn't a surprise that it would be easy to do too much."
New Ulm head coach Curt Forbrook said he was happy with his team's performance overall in the tournament but wasn't quite sure what went wrong Saturday.
"We played really hard the first three days of this tournament and I'm just not sure what happened today," Forbrook said. "I think this was just one of them baseball days. I just really don't know yet what happened. Hats off to Marshall. They beat us. We're a good baseball team, but it just wasn't our day today."
Hunter Larson stepped on the hill first for New Ulm in Game 1 and pitched a gem for six innings. The Mudcats got to Larson in the seventh, however, for four hits and three runs.
Larson also hit a batter in the inning. He finished seven innings allowing six hits and three walks for three earned runs while striking out three. Collin Forstner pitched the eighth and took the loss, allowing two hits and a walk for two earned runs.
Andrew Stelter got the win in relief for Marshall in Game 1, going two hitless innings, allowing just two walks for no runs while striking out one. Bennett Graven got the start and threw 5 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and three walks for three runs, one earned, while striking out two.
Stelter also had the go-ahead hit in the eighth when he doubled to left to bring home two for a 5-3 lead.
Before that, Kyle Albrecht's RBI single gave the Gold a 1-0 lead in the third. In the sixth, a passed ball scored Tanner Backer and sac fly off the bat of Josh Forstner scored Dirk Haynes for a 3-0 Gold lead.
Noah Frazee led off the seventh for Marshall with a single before Larson got back-to-back outs. Stelter singled in a run to make it a 3-1 lead before Weedman singled and Trae Bailey was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Keynan Coequyt, who singled in two to tie the game.
Stelter ended up leading Marshall at the plate by going 2 for 4 with his big double and three RBIs, while Andrew Lee was 2 for 4 with two runs scored.
Jake Finstad and Larson each went 2 for 4 for the Gold in the opener.
In the second game, Marshall collected four hits and two walks in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead. The inning saw run-scoring singles from Kraft, Lee, Coequyt and Stelter, with Coequyt's bringing home two runs.
The Gold scored all of their Game 2 runs in one inning also, which came in the fifth. A walk to Evan Blekestad started the inning, while Backer and Ryan Rathmann singled to load the bases for Alex Portner, who singled in Blekestad. A bases-loaded walk to Zach Hubbard made it a 5-2 game before a sac fly from Levi Hopp made it 5-3. A delayed double steal that saw Hubbard out at second allowed Portner to score for the second out of the inning before Marshall reliever Coequyt forced a popout to end the New Ulm rally.
New Ulm left the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the sixth and Marshall did the same in the bottom of the inning. Marshall ended the game with a 1-2-3 seventh pitched by reliever Ethan Boeck, who allowed one walk and one hit in two innings.
"Just staying tough [had led us]," Fry said. "Lot of close games, staying focused was a big one, but I think a lot of it goes to these guys have played together, I'm sure some of these other teams are in the same boat, but they've played a lot of baseball together growing up and I think that's one of the things that makes this team really fun to be around. They were playing when they were 8 years old and there's just some really tight bonds.
"Even spots where guys can get on each other and get away with some things that maybe they wouldn't be able to if they didn't know each other so well and have those close connections. That just stood out to me in the dugout and coaching these guys all year."
Stelter got the win in three innings of work, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one. Stelter also was the hot bat again for Marshall in the second game, going 2 for 4 with an RBI, while Bailey added a double.
Haynes took the loss for New Ulm in 3 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and two walks for five earned runs.
Eli Anderson pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief for the Gold, allowing two hits and two walks for no runs while striking out one.
"The season can be long and these guys played a long spring season, long summer season, and that was our biggest goal was playing our best baseball at the end," Fry said. "There's gonna be setbacks and all that, but I think we feel pretty confident that we're playing our best baseball. Always room to get better, but really I think the biggest focus is just getting some rest after this tournament. This was crazy. … Lot of hard games, lot of pitching, so getting rested up and ready to go."
The state tournament begins Thursday.