Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm's Luke Soos hits a triple during the Big South Conference baseball game against Marshall on Tuesday at Johnson Park in New Ulm.
NEW ULM — Marshall's Liam Kruse pitched the Tigers to a 3-1 victory over New Ulm in a Big South Conference baseball game Tuesday at Mueller Park.
“He's getting better and better every game.” Marshall head coach Chase Pollock said of Kruse. “He had a no-hitter earlier this year along with a few other guys. He seems to be getting better and better with each game. He was in the strike zone a lot more today than he was in the last game. It's great to see. He throws off-speed first strikes and works with good tempo.”
Kruse struck out six batters in seven innings pitched, allowing two hits and one earned run, cooling off the bats for a New Ulm team that scored 24 points in last Saturday's doubleheader with Worthington.
“The energy as a group was a little low.” Ulm's new head coach Mike Anderson said: “But to be honest, that pitcher we played against was really great. He kept getting strikes one, changing his speed, keeping us off balance, keeping us away. Today was that extra hit, that clutch hit. could not be found.
At the plate for Marshall, Ashton Bromberg was 2-for-3 with one hit and an RBI, and Josh Craft was 2-for-4 with an RBI. J.R. Fierstrate had a triple and his one RBI, and Coby Brownlee had his two-for-three at-bats and one stolen base.
New Ulm suffered the loss with Colton Ackman striking out one, allowing five hits and two runs, and one earned. For New Ulm, Luke Soos and Aiden Jensen each had a hit, Kyle Albrecht had an RBI and Ethan Thompson had an RBI.
Both teams had chances to score early, with New Ulm getting both hits with one out in the first inning. However, Jensen, the leadoff pitcher, struck out, and Kruse ended the inning with a strikeout. The Eagles were without a hit for the rest of the game.
“I think this is a season-long issue.” Anderson said the team has struggled to get runners back in scoring position. “But believe it or not, as much as scoring just one point means we're not hitting, things are getting better. We're getting better with each game. We just played a high-level team that hasn't lost yet. They're coming in undefeated.”
Marshall was in danger of scoring in the top of the third inning with one out and the bases loaded, but Ackman's heads-up fielder's choice prevented the run, and a groundout to shortstop ended the Tigers' inning.
Despite the setback, Marshall struck first in the top of the fourth inning after a 1-2-3 defense. Bromberg was singled, stole second, and reached third base on a ground out before coming home on a fielding error on his first RBI of the game. For New Ulm, Albrecht drew a walk in the bottom of the inning, advanced to third base on a passed ball, stole third, and then Thompson bunted home to tie the game.
Fiastrate hit a triple with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, threatening more Marshall runs. After Jude Knudson was hit by a pitch to lead off, a balk was called and Fiastraete homered, giving the Tigers the lead back. After a scoreless sixth inning, Bromberg hit a single to score Craft and seal a 3–1 victory for Marshall.
“We had chances early in the game.” Pollock said. “I didn't think of any big hits…Then Bromberg hit a big hit in the top of the sixth inning. It was a good day to pitch, it was a cool night, and the defense played really well, as did New Alms. ”
New Ulm (3-4, 3-2) heads to Mankato East on Thursday. Marshall (5-1, 1-0) hosts Worthington on Tuesday.
