Rupert Ks 14

as Kaiserhoff

tops Marshall

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Chris Rupert struck out 14 Marshall batters in eight innings of work and Tom Steinbach pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning as New Ulm Kaiserhoff opened the Section 4B championship series with a 5-4 win over Marshall.

Rupert (12-0) allowed four runs and nine A's hits.

Nate Johnson took the loss for Marshall.

Game 2 in this best-of-three series will be at 8 p.m. tonight in Marshall. A third game, if necessary, will be back in New Ulm Friday night.

Brad Keenan led Kaiserhoff with three hits with Aaron Dolan and Brady Ranweiler each collecting two hits. One of Ranweiler's hits was a home run.

Marshall was paced by two hits each from Brad Stromdahl and Matt Tiggas, with Stromdahl driving in two runs. Stromdahl, Tiggas and Nate Johnson all homered for the A's and all three came in Marshall's three-run eighth.

Marshall threatened in the first, loading the bases with two out before Rupert got the final out on a pop-out.

Kaiserhoff opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, getting two unearned runs off Johnson. After the left-hander had retired the first two New Ulm hitters, Brad Keenan sliced a grounder to second baseman Trent Sukalski, who fielded the ball clean, but was wide with his throw to first. Brady Ranweiler made it hurt when he tomahawked a 3-2 offering from Johnson over the fence in right for a 2-0 lead New Ulm lead.

The A's stranded a runner at third in the third inning before Kaiserhoff plated a third run off Johnson. Consecutive singles by Keenan, Ranweiler and Tom Steinbach made it 3-0.

Marshall finally got to Rupert in the fifth, scoring on a pair of walks and a Brad Stromdahl single.

New Ulm added another run in the fifth when Ryan Ellwein walked and later scored on Dolan's single to right.

Dolan led off the seventh with a double to right and scored on a Keenan single to left for a 5-1 cushion. Kaiserhoff and Rupert would need that extra run.

In the eighth inning, Stromdahl led off with a long home run to left to cut the lead to 5-2. Matt Tiggas followed by belting a 3-2 Rupert pitch to almost the exact same spot as Stromdahl's shot and Marshall was down 5-3. After Rupert fanned Joe Westpahl for the first out of the inning, Nate Johnson gave a Rupert hanging curve ball a new zip code, hammering it deep over the fence in right field and Marshall crawled to within 5-4.

But Rupert fanned the the next two, and Steinbach came in and got the save in the ninth.

MARSHALL 000 010 030--4 9 3

NU KAISERHOFF 201 010 10x--5 9 1

W--Rupert. L--Johnson. S--Steinbach. 2B--New Ulm, Dolan. HRs--Marshall, Stromdahl, Tiggas, Johnson; New Ulm, Ranweiler.

Sleepy Eye 7, Hanska 3

SLEEPY EYE -- Brian Hertling went the distance to lead Sleepy Eye past Hanska 7-3 Wednesday night at Sleepy Eye Baseball Park in a Tomahawk East double roundrobin baseball game.

Frank Forstner took the loss for Hanska.

Sleepy Eye will host the New Ulm Brewers at 8 p.m. today.