The Marshall baseball program has been forged from fire in the early portion of the 2024 season. Entering the week of April 22, the Cardinals had already lost to three teams ranked in the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association (WBCA) top-20: New Glarus (No. 10, Division 3), Columbus (No. 19, Division 2), and Deerfield (No. 19, Division 3).
Marshall hosted a fourth ranked team on Tuesday, April 23, but with much higher stakes. Waterloo entered the matchup as more than just the Cardinals' top rival, but also the No. 12 ranked team in Division 3 and one of two remaining undefeated team in Capitol - South play alongside New Glarus.
Marshall had been prepared for this moment by its tough schedule prior and got the win. Waterloo started the game with a three-run homerun in the top of the first inning, only for Marshall to respond with eight runs of its own in the bottom of the second. The Cardinals were able to hold off the Pirates' steady comeback, securing an 11-7 victory to hand Waterloo its first conference loss.
"I've challenged the kids to just get a little better every day," Marshall head coach Sam Hernandez said. "We're process oriented, more-so than results oriented. Losing is never fun, but the challenge for our kids is to stay the course. We just wanted to keep getting better. As this team continues to gel, they also find their identity. That's why you've seen this growth."
Waterloo looked the part of a state-ranked program that had only lost once on the season by its performance in the top of the first inning. Senior catcher Jon Sampo singled on the first pitch he saw. After he was caught stealing second base, seniors Cam Tschanz and Cal Hush drew back-to-back walks. This set the stage for big Keegan Lauersdorf. He stepped up with confidence and absolutely crushed a three-run homerun over the right field fence. In a flash, Waterloo had a 3-0 lead.
Marshall masked its frustration by nabbing one run in the bottom of the same inning. Senior catcher Teseo Ruelas led off by drawing a walk and a groundout from senior Matthew Motl pushed him over to third base. Another groundout, courtesy of junior shortstop Carson Connelly, brought him in to score and narrow the deficit to 3-1.
Marshall junior starting pitcher Maddux Anacker settled down to retire the side quickly in the top of the second inning. Outside of Waterloo's first inning strike and a handful of walks, it was a quality start. His quick work set the stage for his offense to launch into the game-defining bottom of the second inning.
Ironically, Marshall started slowly. The Cardinals quickly grounded out twice, leaving a runner on second base with two outs. That didn't seem to matter to them, though. Anacker himself started the rally with a single to right field, followed by a drawn walk from sophomore right fielder Garret Shepler to load the bases.
This brought Marshall back to the top of the order. Ruelas pounded a single to left field to bring senior Jackson Neuberger and Anacker home, tying the game at three runs each. Motl then gave Marshall its first lead with a two-run double to right, bringing home Ruelas and Shepler.
The Cardinals weren't content with this 5-3 lead. Connelly drew a walk, junior Mitchell Pletcher reached on an error that scored Motl. Sophomore Brady Kleinheinz smoked a single to right field which brought Connelly and Pletcher in. Even the freshman Logan Ney punched a single to center field to bring Kleinheinz home. When the dust had settled, Marshall led 9-3.
Waterloo took a methodical effort into its comeback attempt. With plenty of game left, the Pirates remained calm and slowly chipped away at the deficit. In the top of the third inning, Lauersdorf smoked a sacrifice fly into center field, allowing Tschanz to tag up and score. Senior Logan Dolfin led the fourth inning off with a triple and quickly moved home as Marshall couldn't field a grounder from junior Bryce Aubart.
The rally reached a peak in the top of the sixth inning. Now only trailing 9-5, Waterloo led off by drawing two straight walks from Dolfin and freshman Mason Reedy. Reedy would come home on a groundout from Sampo while a passed ball brought Dolfin home. This was the closest the game would get, a slim 9-7 lead for host Marshall.
The Cardinals' bats had been silent since that second inning outburst. Aubart had dominated the game from the pitching mound with his arsenal of pitches. They returned to life at the perfect time, the bottom of the sixth inning, to put a stop to the comeback. Motl led off by annihilating a ball, which easily cleared the fence in left field. Connelly followed with a single and was moved to third before Kleinheinz bunted him in. The offensive success gave the Cardinals a four-run cushion.
Ruelas stepped on to the mound for the Cardinals in the top of the sixth inning. Waterloo nabbed a pair of runs off of him as he cleaned up what Anacker left for him, but he was lights out in the top of the seventh. He forced three consecutive fly outs to ice the game and complete the upset.
The win bumps Marshall up to a completely balanced record this season, 4-4 overall and 2-2 in Capitol - South conference play. Waterloo falls to 9-2 overall and 2-1 against conference opponents.
The Pirates will have their chance for revenge very soon. Next, the Pirates will host the Cardinals at Waterloo Fireman's Park on Thursday, April 25 to close out the season series.
"They're going to be very motivated," Hernandez said of Waterloo. "Regardless of sport or location, those guys always show up ready to play Marshall. We didn't need a bullseye on our backs from them, but now we've put one on. The challenge will be to match their energy at their ballpark and try to come away with another conference win."
Once the rivalry games are done, Waterloo will close out its week with another conference game, this time at Cambridge, on Saturday, April 27. Marshall will follow the Waterloo series with a non-conference trip to Edgewood on Friday, April 26.
--
Capitol - South conference baseball standings
-as of Tuesday, April 24
(overall records in parenthesis)
1. New Glarus, 4-0 (7-0)
2. Cambridge, 3-1 (5-4)
3. Waterloo, 2-1 (9-2)
4. Marshall, 2-2 (4-4)
5. Belleville, 1-4 (4-7)
6. Wisconsin Heights, 0-4 (1-8)
Most Popular
Comments / 0