Photo by Jake McNeill: File photo: Marshall’s Tyler Maeyaert hits a pitch during the Mudcats’ game against New Ulm on July 6 at American Legion Field.

HUTCHINSON — Following their first-round loss to Hutchinson on Monday, the Marshall Mudcats suffered a second straight loss ending their season with a walk-off 8-7 defeat to Delano on Tuesday night.

The Mudcats struck first behind a Braxton Koster RBI double and added a run with a Coby Brownlee RBI single to go up 2-0 in the first inning.

Delano quickly erased the deficit and took control of the game. They scored in the next three innings and were up 5-2 after three innings. Delano added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a five-run lead into the seventh.

Still, Marshall stayed competitive. The Mudcats loaded the bases with no outs and Koster drove a single into left field, scoring two and cutting the deficit to 7-4. Andrew Wallen then came to the plate and blasted a three-run homer run over the left field wall to erase the five-run deficit and tie the game up at seven all.

“The way we responded with our grit, getting our senior leader up at the plate to tie the game and then have him deliver,” Marshall manager Mitch Maxwell said. “We started the summer by saying, that is going to be an opportunity for guys to show who you are. This was a tough situation to be in. Everybody in that dugout showed character to be able to piece things together to come back and tie it up.”

Brownlee struck out, Talan Plante grounded out and Ashton Blomberg popped out to second base, but the comeback was complete and Marshall forced Delano to go to bat in the bottom of the seventh.

Branden Myhre came on in relief and after facing the very first batter, Delano hit a walk-off home run.

Koster had two hits and drove in three RBIs. Wallen had the huge game-tying home run, drove in three RBIs, and had two hits as well. Juehl Morman also had two hits in the loss.

“We start off at the beginning of the game being patient at the plate with clutch hitting,” Maxwell said. “Then we had a similar situation from last night and that’s what ended up getting us in a deficit. We talked before that seventh inning about what kind of resiliency we will show. After Koster gets the hit, we score two. Wallen had one of the best summers I’ve seen in 10-plus years of coaching Mudcats baseball. You wouldn’t want another guy in that box, at that moment. Myhre threw a great curveball that the kid just hit over the ball.”

For the Mudcats’ pair of seniors, Wallen and Tyler Maeyert, the Tuesday night matchup was their last game in the red and black.

“Tyler Maeyaert has continued to grow as an athlete physically and mentally,” Maxwell said. “I’m incredibly proud of him. Thinking about where he came from being a freshman to now, he has matured so much. Wallen had worked so hard over the years and he has been a model of consistency. As senior leaders, they have done and asked for everything we needed them to do. The post-game message was to thank the seniors for everything they’ve done with our program. Also say, thank you to the parents of the players and the Legion for their continued support.”

The Marshall Mudcats finished the summer legion season at 9-10.