This story is sponsored by: The Marshfield Tiger Booster Club
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Nick Urban threw a complete game and delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Marshfield baseball team edged upset-minded Wausau West 5-4 in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal Tuesday at Jack Hackman Field.
The No. 3 seed Tigers (16-6) move on to a D-1 regional final at No. 2 seed D.C. Everest (15-8) on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Simon Field.
Marshfield has won seven of its last eight games since being swept in a doubleheader by Everest back on May 28.
Landon Parlier had an RBI triple and Cole Osness delivered an RBI double on a couple of windblown fly balls in the opening inning against Urban before he settled in.
The Tigers scored four times in the second as Wausau West starter Isaiah Piscitello was suddenly wild.
Trey Montalvo and Peter Earll hit hard singles, and Parker Weik reached on an infield hit to load the bases. The first pitch to Adam Zee went to the backstop allowing Montalvo to score and put Marshfield on the board.
After Zee struck out, Carsten Jirschele singled to center to score a pair and he later scored on Piscitello’s third wild pitch of the inning, putting the Tigers on top 4-2.
Urban allowed just three baserunners to reach in the four innings following the first until the sixth. Piscitello singled and Osness walked. After a strikeout, Wes Schneider hit a fly ball to right field that was misplayed, allowing both runners to score and knot the game at 4-4.
“Nick pitched a really nice game. He’s pitched like that all year,” Marshfield coach John Southworth said. “Quite frankly, he could have only given up one run in that game. The wind was blowing out and we didn’t handle it well in the first inning and when they scored the other two runs (in the sixth). I told the kids we can’t let that happen going forward or we’re going to get beat.”
Urban was able to get out of the sixth inning with no further damage and needed just six pitches to get through the seventh, setting up his heroics at the plate.
Zee and Jirschele were each hit by pitches, chasing Piscitello from the game. After a fly out, Urban hit a bouncer up the middle and although the throw home beat Zee to the plate, it was a little wide and high, and Zee was able to slide in safely to give the Tigers the victory.
“They were playing in a little bit and we just had to try to score the run,” Southworth said. “I knew we would get the other runner to second, so if (Logan) Homolka would get a hit (next in the order) we would win anyway there. That was my thinking there.”
Urban allowed five hits and struck out five in the complete-game effort. Homolka and Peter Earll each had two hits for Marshfield.
Tigers 5, Warriors 4
Wausau West 200 002 0 – 4 5 0
Marshfield 040 000 1 – 5 8 1
WP: Nick Urban. LP: Isaiah Piscitello.
SO: Piscitello (6 inn.) 5, Cole Osness (1/3 inn.) 0; Urban 5. BB: Piscitello 1, Osness 0; Urban 3.
Top hitters: WW, Landon Parlier 3B, RBI; Osness 2B, RBI; Kian Garske 2B. M, Logan Homolka 2×3; Peter Earll 2×3; Carsten Jirschele 2 RBIs.
Records: Wausau West 5-15; Marshfield 16-6.