BELLE PLAINE, Minn. – The Marshall A’s moved to 9-1 overall with an impressive weekend at the eight-team Belle Plaine Tiger Town Classic winning all three games to capture the championship for the third time in team history.
In Sunday’s championship game, Logan Tomasek stroked a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth to give the A’s a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Class A Minneapolis Mud Cats and the team’s first Tiger Town Classic title since 2011.
Marshall trailed 2-0 after the first inning before Wienhoff scored an unearned run in the second inning. Down 4-1 in the third, Seth Resnick wacked an RBI single to score Chase Douglas, while Connor Neubeck followed with a double, but the ball stuck in the ivy, costing the A’s a run.
The A’s would later fall behind 5-2, but rallied back with two runs in the fourth to pull within 5-4. The A’s would tie the game in the sixth as Matt Hmielewski singled to start the frame and would later score.
Tomasek was solid in relief stranding the bases loaded in the fifth inning to keep the game close. In extra innings and a runner starting at second base, Minneapolis would score a run in the top of the eighth, but Tomasek would limit the damage to just one run.
In the home half of the eighth, Hmielewski reached via a base hit to put runners on the corners and no outs. After a stolen base by Hmelewski, Ryan Schwagel would walk to load the bases. Tomasek then slapped a single up the middle to score two runs and start a wild celebration heard all around southern Minnesota.
Marshall started the weekend with a 3-0 win on Friday night over Webster, a 2022 state tournament team. Wes Sarsland earned the win tossing a seven-inning, two-hit shutout with five strikeouts. The A’s were limited to four hits with Chase Douglas, Peyton Grant, Resnick and Hunter Wienhoff each collecting one hit.
On Saturday, the A’s held off Belle Plaine to earn a 5-4 victory. Marshall held a 4-0 lead after three innings, then added an insurance in the sixth to make the score 5-2. The Tigers scored twice in the seventh, but a fly out to Zach Olsen ended the rally and gave the A’s the victory. Wienhoff fired 6 2/3 innings and racked up 11 strikeouts, while allowing two earned runs on four hits. Hmielewski recorded the final out for the save.
Grant had three hits for the A’s with Resnick, Schwagel and Hmielewski each finishing with one hit. Hmielewski had two RBIs, while Talan Plante added sac fly and Tomasek also had one RBI.
Marshall is now 9-1 overall and has won seven straight games. The A’s return home on Wednesday night for a big Corn Belt League game versus Wabasso with first pitch set for 7:30. The A’s also play at Bird Island on Friday and will host Willmar on Sunday night at 5 p.m.
