This story is sponsored by: Trudeau Construction and The Tile Guys
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – With the score tied and runners on first and second and nobody out in the bottom of the sixth inning, Marshfield senior Colin Telin was called upon to bunt the runners over.
Telin failed. Twice. Quickly, however, he was able to redeem himself. After Merrill pitcher Dylan Burkham’s diving attempt to catch Telin’s second bunt attempt fell in foul territory, Telin ripped a shot down the left field line to score Kendell Lisiecki with the winning run and lift Marshfield to a 5-4 win over the Bluejays in a Wisconsin Valley Conference baseball game Thursday at Reeths Field.
Telin finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs in the win, Marshfield’s third straight to start the season.
“I just focused on making contact and getting it out of the infield,” Telin said. “He threw me an outside pitch and I hit to the opposite field.”
Marshfield led 2-0 through four innings as senior Sully Luepke, making his 2011 pitching debut, sailed through the Bluejays’ lineup by striking out seven.
Daulton Varsho delivered a two-out RBI single in the second inning and Telin knocked in a run with a fielder’s choice in the third to put the Tigers up 2-0.
Merrill finally got to a tiring Luepke in the fifth. Jordan Burton had an RBI single, Alex Cordova plated a run with a sacrifice fly and Kyle Kubicheck added another RBI single to give Merrill a 3-2 lead. Luepke allowed six hits and two walks in five innings of work.
“I told someone in the dugout, ‘Wasn’t it nice to see Sully out there after what happened in the fall,’” Marshfield coach Mark Zee said, referring to a leg injury Luepke suffered during the football season. “It was nice to see him out on the mound and it was a reflection of his hard work to get back out there.”
Marshfield rallied with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Austin Littmann’s double plated Lisiecki and Telin followed with a run-scoring single to center to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead.
Merrill responded again to tie the game against Marshfield reliever Trevor Larson in the sixth. Larson retired the Bluejays in order in the seventh to set up the winning rally for the Tigers in the bottom of the frame.
“All of our players are confident and the plate,” Telin said. “All of our young guys are stepping up. We have a good team.”
Zee said Marshfield has a great mix of seniors and younger players with plenty of baseball experience, and he is excited by the Tigers’ 3-0 start and 2-0 mark in the Wisconsin Valley.
“This is the third time outside and this was our third game,” Zee said. “We do have a bunch of new guys, we’re still relatively young, but these guys have a lot of experience playing ball. They’re ready to go and you can tell how they approach the game. I think it’s going to be an exciting year. We have some guys that can pitch.”
Marshfield is scheduled to host a doubleheader against La Crosse Aquinas, the Division 3 runner-up at last year’s WIAA State Tournament, on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and return to WVC action Tuesday at Wausau East.
Tigers 5, Bluejays 4
Merrill 000 031 0 – 4 8 0
Marshfield 011 020 1 – 5 9 2
WP: Trevor Larson. LP: Dylan Burkham.
SO: Burkham 5; Sully Luepke 7, Larson 1. BB: Burkham 3; Luepke 2, Larson 0.
Top hitters: MER, Jack Osness 2B; Matt Woller 2×2. MAR, Austin Littman 3×4, 2B; Colin Telin 2×4, 3 RBIs; Kendell Lisiecki 3 BBs, 3 runs.
Records: Merrill 0-3, 0-2 Wisconsin Valley Conference; Marshfield 3-0, 2-0 Wisconsin Valley Conference.