The 2024 Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) baseball state tournament carries on for both Marshall and Waterloo. The No. 4 seed Pirates and No. 6 seed Cardinals handled business in their regional openers, both hosted at home on Thursday, May 23.
Waterloo welcomed in No. 13 seed Necedah to Waterloo Fireman’s Park and romped to a 14-0 win in just five innings. Marshall got more than it bargained for in visiting No. 11 seed Parkview. The Vikings scored late but couldn’t fully erase the deficit as the Cardinals held on for a 5-4 win.
Waterloo got a combined pitching gem from seniors Keegan Lauersdorf and Cam Tschanz to keep Necedah silent all game. Lauersdorf handled the first four innings, allowing only one hit over that span with seven strikeouts. While Tschanz only pitched the fifth inning, he left his mark by striking out the three batters he faced.
The Pirates’ offense scored in all four of their batting opportunities, starting with one run in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Jon Sampo led off with a single, tagged up all the way to third on a fly out from senior Cal Hush, and was subsequently brought home on a single to left from Lauersdorf.
Things exploded in the bottom of the second inning as Waterloo tacked on eight extra insurance runs. Junior Bryce Aubart, freshman Mason Reedy, and sophomore Ryder Jahenke set the tone for the successful inning by leading off with back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases with no outs.
The scoring started with junior Kyle Hostetler, who drew a walk to send Aubart home and bring the top of the batting order back up. Sampo quickly brought both Reedy and Jaehnke home with a double to left field. Hush again provided value with a towering fly out, this time buying time for Hostetler to come home. Necedah also committed an error on the throw to the infield, allowing Sampo to spring up and sprint home to make it a 6-0 ballgame.
With no one on base and only one out, Waterloo simply loaded the bases again. Lauersdorf drew a walk, senior Trevor Firari connected on a single, and Tschanz reached on an error at second base. Aubart took advantage of all the ducks on the pond by punishing a single into left field. The fielder had trouble corralling the ball, allowing both Lauersdorf and Firari to race home. To wrap up the scoring, Reedy smoked another sacrifice fly, this time to bring Tschanz home on the tag up to make it a 9-0 Waterloo lead.
The Pirates would add two more runs in the bottom of the third inning and three in the fourth. In the third, Lauersdorf and Firari connected on back-to-back RBI singles. Firari also hit an RBI single in the fourth, as did junior Caleb Bullock. Sampo also provided a sacrifice fly hit to center field to bring the Pirates to their winning run total of 14.
Things proved to be tougher for Marshall on Thursday despite the Cardinals starting the game with a 2-0 lead. Freshman Logan Ney provided the RBI single in the bottom of the first inning, a shot to center field to score junior Remington Braun. Senior Matthew Motl provided the RBI in the bottom of the second, a well-hit grounder through the left of the infield to bring home junior Teseo Ruelas.
Marshall junior starting pitcher Carson Connelly had held Parkview scoreless in the first two innings, but the Vikings utilized an error in the top of the third to get a pair of runs across the board and tie the game up. They’d strike again in the top of the fifth to take their first lead of the game, 3-2.
The Cardinals did not let this last long as they’d score three straight runs, one in the bottom of the fifth inning and two more in the bottom of the sixth. It was Connelly himself who knotted things up in the bottom of the fifth inning with a solo homerun to right field. Marshall then used a pair of Parkview mistakes to score twice in the sixth. Junior Mitchell Pletcher came home on a fielder’s choice and junior Maddux Anacker came home by way of a balk to restore a 5-3 lead for the Cardinals.
Anacker then came in to close the game on the pitching mound in the top of the seventh inning. He walked a run home with two outs on the board, leaving the bases loaded and the season hanging in the balance. Connelly was tapped to return to the mound for the final out. The decision proved to be a good one as he struck the batter out to keep Marshall’s season alive.
Next up, both Marshall and Waterloo advance to the regional final round of Sectional 3 in Division 3. Waterloo will still be the home team as it takes on Capitol — South rival and No. 5 seed New Glarus. The Glarner Knights swept the Pirates in their regular season series with wins of 8-3 and 7-6.
Marshall will also meet a familiar squad in No. 3 seed Deerfield. The two met in non-conference action way back on Wednesday, April 10, a 12-4 win for Marshall. Since then, Deerfield went on to win the Trailways-South conference and end the season as the No. 19 ranked team in Division 3 according to the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association (WBCA) coaches poll.
Both teams will play their regional finals on Tuesday, May 28. Waterloo will host at Waterloo Fireman’s Park while Marshall will be on the road at Deerfield High School.
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