Marshall baseball claims second regional title in three years

The Marshall baseball team has a knack for turning in its best work in the postseason. The Cardinals enjoyed a trip to Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) sectionals in 2022 after upsetting the top seed in their regional. They're returning to sectionals in the spring of 2024 as regional champions once again.

Marshall had a tough path as the No. 6 seed in Sectional 3 of Division 3. The Cardinals opened with a tight 5-4 win over No. 11 seed Parkview to set up a matchup with No. 3 seed Deerfield on Wednesday, May 29. The Cardinals pulled the 5-2 upset to advance to the regional title game the following day. There, they met No. 7 seed and Capitol - South conference rival Belleville, who had upset No. 2 seed Pardeeville. Marshall just kept rolling, winning 8-5 to claim the program's second regional title in three years.

Despite the disparity in seeding, Marshall had reason to enter Wednesday's matchup with Deerfield with confidence. Way back on April 10, the Cardinals had crushed the Demons 12-4. Since then, Deerfield had risen to power in Division 3, eventually receiving a ranking of 19 in the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association (WBCA) coaches poll before winning the Trailways-South conference.

It was the host Demons that set the tone in the rematch, stealing a run off of Marshall junior starting pitcher Carson Connelly in the bottom of the first inning. Connelly rebounded to silence the Demons for the next four innings. In his six and two thirds innings pitched, Marshall's ace allowed seven hits with seven strikeouts. No run scored counted against his earned run average.

Marshall took some time to find Connelly some runs support, going scoreless for the first four innings of the game. The Cardinals finally sparked to life with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth.

Junior Maddux Anacker led off with a single to center field before being bunted over to second base by sophomore Garret Shepler. Junior Teseo Ruelas then pushed Anacker to third base with another single. Chaos ensued on a hard-hit grounder to short by senior Matthew Motl. The Demons committed of errors on both the fielding of the ball and the throw, allowing both Anacker and Ruelas to score to give Marshall a 2-1 lead.

Deerfield would have an answer. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Demons utilized a double and a single to push the tying run across. Heading into the seventh inning, the game was knotted at two runs each.

Here, Marshall turned in its best offensive performance yet. Ruelas led off by getting hit by a pitch, followed by a single from Motl. Connelly then broke the game wide open with a double to center field, scoring both runners. Deerfield then spotted Marshall a free fifth run as a dropped third strike and a balk allowed Connelly to score. In a flash, Marshall led 5-2.

With two outs on the board in the bottom half, Deerfield got a runner on base thanks to an error at first. Sophomore Brady Kleinheinz came in to close out the final out. Naturally, he forced a pop out to Connelly, who had moved to shortstop. He closed his glove around the ball to solidify the upset and punch a ticket to the regional title game the following day.

Marshall had the benefit of hosting Belleville on Thursday, May 30 as the lower seed with a regional title on the line. The two conference rivals had split their regular season series with the Wildcats winning the first 8-5 before the Cardinals bounced back for an 8-3 win the following day.

The fireworks started early as both teams scored two runs in their half of the first inning. Belleville used a pair of errors to score theirs on Anacker, who started on the mound for Marshall.

The Cardinals' bats started off hot as Ruelas and Motl led off with back-to-back singles in the bottom half. An error in left field on a fly ball from Connelly allowe Ruelas to score. Freshman Logan Ney then pushed Connelly home with a single into left field to tie the game.

Marshall had its back against the wall as Belleville proceeded to score once more in the top of the third inning and two in the top of the fifth. The Cardinals's offense had cooled off as the visiting Wildcats pulled ahead 5-2.

They finally showed some further signs of life in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ruelas launched a double into left field and was quickly brought home on a single from Motl. Still, Belleville led 5-3.

Kleinehinz replaced Anacker on the pitching mound in the top of the sixth inning. Ruelas, the catcher, eased his transition by catching a runner stealing for a free out. Kleinheinz then recorded a strikeout to bring the Cardinals' offense back to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Marshall's offense erupted. Ney reached on an error, followed by singles from junior Mitchell Pletcher and senior Jackson Neuberger, to load the bases. Anacker followed with a third consecutive single, this one to center field to score Ney. Shelper then drew a walk off of Belleville's pitching replacement to tie the game at five runs each. Marshall wasn't done.

Back at the top of the order with the bases loaded and no outs, Belleville's pitcher balked to bring Neuberger home. Ruleas then laid down a bunt, but Belleville caught Anacker at home. Still, Marshall had runners at second and third with only one out. Motl then smoked a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Shepler.

Belleville then intentionally walked Connelly to load the bases with two outs. The plan backfired as the pitcher then hit Kleinheinz with a pitch to allow Ruelas to trot home. The Wildcats then escaped the inning with a pop out, but the damage had been done as Marshall led 8-5.

Kleinheinz wasted no time closing the game in the top of the seventh inning. He got a ground out and a pop out before slamming the door with a strikeout. Marshall was a regional champion once again.

The victories buy Marshall a ticket to the Sectional 3 semifinals, which will be hosted at Prairie du Chien High School on Thursday, June 4. The Cardinals will meet another familiar face there in Capitol - South conference rival and No. 5 seed New Glarus. The two teams split their regular seasons series, Marshall winning 11-6 and New Glarus winning 14-1.

The winner of that semifinal will advance to the Sectional 3 championship game, also hosted at Prairie du Chien on Tuesday, June 4. They'll play the winner of No. 1 seed Aquinas and No. 2 seed Viroqua.