The Sacred Heart Eagles scored two runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat the West Marshall Fusion 5-3 in the second round of the Section 8A Baseball tournament played in Greenbush.
It was a pitcher’s duel to start as Sacred Heart’s Sam Gapp and West Marshall’s Marshall Treudeson didn’t give up a hit for the first two and a half innings. In the bottom of the third, Sacred Heart recorded the first hit of the game and it was a big one as Breck Bloom crushed a pitch over the left-field fence for a solo home run and a 1-0 lead.
West Marshall responded in the top of the fourth inning when Will McGlynn reached on an error and a Jackson Kekke single. Demetrius Oberg and Aiden Anderson followed with walks to score a run and tie the game at 1-1. Another run scored on an error when Sacred Heart tried to pick off a runner at first base for a 2-1 lead.
Sacred Heart answered in the bottom of the inning when Ethan Arnston singled and Nick Brundin was hit by a pitch. After a pop-out to the catcher, Isaac Zavoral singled to score a run to tie the game at 2-2. The ensuing batter, Bloom, hit a fly ball to deep left field to score another run and Sacred Heart led 3-2.
West Marshall tied the game in the top of the fifth inning when Nick Winge walked with one out. He advanced to second base on an error and scored on a Kekke single to tie the game at 3-3.
Sacred Heart had a big bottom of the sixth inning and it started with a Nick Brundin single and a stolen base. After a strike out, Isaac Zavoral singled to score a run for a 4-3 lead. Dave Larson walked and Cullen Rohrich singled to score another run for a 5-3 lead.
Sacred Heart’s Ethan Arnston pitched the final two innings and retired the first batter in the seventh inning. The Fusion’s Derek Moehrle reached on an error and advanced to second base. Arnston retired the next two batters and the Eagles won 5-3.
Sacred Heart improves to 18-3 on the year and will play the winner of Ada-Borup-West and Kittson County Central at 3:00 p.m.
West Marshall drops to 10-8 on the year and will play the loser of Ada-Borup-West and Kittson County Central at 5:30 p.m.
To hear Sacred Heart Coach Paul Bethke’s comments, click below.
Audio Player| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| West Marshall | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Sacred Heart | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | – | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| Sam Gapp- SH | 4.0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Ethan Arnston – SH (WP) | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marshall Treudson – WM | 4.0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Derek Moehrle – WM (LP) | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
For Sacred Heart –
Isaac Zavoral – 2 for 3, 2 rbi’s, run
Cullen Rohrich – 2 for 4, rbi, double
Breck Bloom – 1 for 2, 2 rbi, home run
For West Marshall –
Jackson Kekke – 2 for 3, run, rbi
