The Marshall baseball program was itching to get a second Capitol — South conference game under its belt. The Cardinals were left with a bitter taste in their mouths following the first, a 14-1 home loss to New Glarus to open the new season. The three games that followed were all against non-conference opponents.
Marshall had a pair of chances to right this rough start by playing its season series against Belleville in successive days. The Cardinals hosted the Wildcats on Thursday, April 18 and took an 8-5 loss. Undeterred, they bounced back on Friday, April 19 with an 8-3 win.
Thursday’s series-opening loss stung extra for Marshall as it scored the first five runs of the game. The Cardinals struck first in the bottom of the first inning thanks to the imposing bat of senior center fielder Matthew Motl. After junior catcher Teseo Ruelas led off by drawing a walk, Motl launched a two-run homerun over the center field fence.
After silence in the bottom of the second inning, the Cardinals’ offense caught fire again with three runs in the third. They loaded the bases with only one out as Motl and junior Mitchell Pletcher drew walks after Ruelas led off with a single. Sophomore Brady Kleinheinz stepped up in the clutch with a two-run double to right field. Freshman Logan Ney followed with a sacrifice bunt to score Pletcher as Marshall’s lead grew to 5-0.
The Cardinals would not score again. They mustered only thee more baserunners over the final four innings. In the meantime, Belleville got things working offensively.
Junior starting pitcher Maddux Anacker had been spotless through the first three innings of work, relying on a big double play in the top of the third to keep the Wildcats from scoring with the bases loaded. Things fell apart in the top of the fourth. Anacker surrendered three walks and the defense surrendered two errors as Belleville scored four runs to narrow Marshall’s lead to 5-4.
The runs continued coming against Kleinheinz, who took over in the top of the fifth. He only gave up one hit with three strikeouts in his three innings of work. However, the three walks he allowed and a handful few more errors allowed Belleville to score two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. The Wildcats held on for the 8-5 win.
Marshall’s trend of early offense continued in the next day’s rematch. Ruelas and Motl led off with back-to-back singles, the second of which brought Ruelas home for the game’s first run. Motl soon scored, as well, as Kleinheinz smacked a groundout to short to buy him time to advance home.
The Cardinals threw their ace in Friday’s showdown, junior Carson Connelly. He pitched a complete game, allowing six hits with nine strikeouts and not a single walk. Of the three runs Belleville pushed across home plate in the loss, only one counted against his earned run average.
Two of those three runs came in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game. Belleville came out swinging with three consecutive hits, the last of which was a one-run double. An error in right field allowed the second to come home and knot the game at two runs each.
The offense had Connelly’s back. The Cardinals picked up one run in the top of the third inning and four more in the top of the fourth to afford him some breathing room.
Errors came into play for Marshall’s third inning run. With two outs on the board, Ney pushed a tough grounder past third base, allowing Connelly to score. In the fourth, the Cardinals drew a pair of walks before the bats got moving. Motl, Pletcher, and Kleinheinz all delivered hits. Connelly also brought a runner home with a groundout over this stretch as Marshall’s lead ballooned to 7-2.
The two sides traded runs in their respective halves of the seventh inning, but the game was well in hand. The Cardinals cruised to the 8-3 victory behind Connelly’s steadying control on the mound and some timely batting.
This marked first year head coach Sam Hernandez’s first Capitol — South conference victory as leader as the Cardinals. Marshall kept things rolling, as well, with a non-conference win to begin the new week. The Cardinals scored in the seventh inning to sneak out a 3-2 road win over Watertown Luther Prep on Monday, April 22.
Kleinheinz got the start on the bump for the Cardinals. He went four strong innings for the Cardinals, allowing only three hits with six strikeouts. Luther Prep nabbed a pair of runs off of him in the top of the third, but only one counted against his earned run average. Pletcher finished the game out. In his two innings, he allowed just two hits for one earned run and earned the win.
In the top of the seventh inning, sophomore Garret Shepler came up in the clutch. With two outs on the board in a 2-2 tie game, he smashed a double to center field. This brought the top of Marshall’s order back to the plate. Ruelas kept the rally going with a single, pushing Shepler to third base. Motl offered deliverance, smashing a ground ball single past third base to bring Shepler home. The slight lead was enough for the Cardinals to pull out the victory as Pletcher forced a three up, three down bottom of the seventh.
Marshall’s two consecutive wins leaves it with a 3-4 record this season, including a 1-2 mark in Capitol — South conference play. The Cardinals will look to keep things rolling this week with their series against Waterloo. Marshall will host on Tuesday, April 23 and travel to Waterloo Fireman’s Park on Thursday, April 25. To close the week, the Cardinals will travel to face non-conference Edgewood on Friday, April 26.
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Capitol — South conference baseball standings
-as of Monday, April 22
(overall records in parenthesis)
1. New Glarus, 3-0 (6-0)
2. Waterloo, 2-0 (9-1)
3. Cambridge, 2-1 (3-4)
4. Marshall, 1-2 (3-4)
5. Belleville, 1-3 (4-6)
6. Wisconsin Heights, 0-3 (1-7)
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