Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall pitcher Liam Kruse throws from the mound during the first inning of a non-conference baseball game against Class 4A Moorhead on Friday. The Tigers defeated the Spuds 4-2 to pick up a win in their home opener.

MARSHALL — The Marshall baseball team christened its new dugout at Legion Field with a win in its home opener on Friday night against Moorhead. The Tigers scored four third-inning runs and held on for a 4-2 win behind the pitching of Liam Kruse and Josh Kraft.

Pitching is the strength of this iteration of the Marshall Tigers, head coach Chace Pollock said, adding that he was proud of the way his team threw from the mound and the way it manufactured runs with small ball.

“It’s good competition and we’re going to get better playing teams like this,” Pollock said, adding that he felt Moorhead’s Drake Kunza pitched well for the Spuds. “In the end, I thought we were very good. It felt like a playoff environment.”

Kruse was dealing for the Tigers from the first pitch. He was perfect through the game’s first 2 2/3 innings, striking out five batters before he hit Jonas Schaumann. Still, he struck out the next batter to end the inning. He finished the day with one unearned run allowed on two hits with nine strikeouts over five innings. 

“I just knew I was going to have to come out attacking them because we knew they’re a good team,” Kruse said. They’re a class above us, so we knew we were going to have to compete and that’s what we did.”

JR Vierstraete earned the game’s first hit to lead off the bottom of the third and advanced to third base when Moorhead reacted slowly to Eli Alcorn’s bunt single. From there, Andrew Stelter singled to drive Vierstraete in for the go-ahead run.

“It felt pretty good, we’ve been practicing pretty hard as a team all year and it’s just what we do in practice that makes us a team,” Vierstraete said. “We’re a close group of guys.”

The Marshall rally continued when, after a Samuel Thor sacrifice bunt, Liam Kruse hit a two-run double. Levi Maeyaert then popped up a ball to third base with two outs, but Moorhead third baseman Carter Olson dropped the ball and Kruse scored to make the score 4-0. 

“It felt good coming off the bat, but honestly I was just looking for anything to get in play to score the run,” Kruse said.

Kruse recorded three hits with two RBIs in three at-bats in the game. Vierstraete and Eli Alcorn accounted for the Tigers’ only other hits. 

Kruse struck out the first two batters of the fourth inning before a pair of singles to Karson Heinsch and Brayden Kvamme put a runner in scoring position. A passed ball allowed Heinsch to score from third, making the score 4-1, but Kruse got the strikeout to escape the inning without further damage.

Kraft pitched the final two innings of relief to earn the save. He allowed one unearned run on three hits and a walk.

Moorhead further cut into the deficit when Riley Dickhaus led off the sixth with a single and, after advancing to third on a Kunza walk and a passed ball, scored on a Heinsch single with two outs. Still, Kraft ended the inning with a strikeout and retired three of the four batters he faced in the seventh to seal the win.

Kunza gave up two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts in the loss for Moorhead. He pitched all six innings. Heinsca was also the only Spud with multiple hits, singling twice.

New year, new look

The Tigers had a new look as they took on Moorhead in their home opener. Marshall switched its bench over to the first baseline instead of the third and enjoyed a new dugout after the offseason renovations at Legion Field. They also brought out new uniforms, rocking pinstripes after wearing solid colors last season.

“It’s pretty nice. As a team, we like it and we’re trying to keep going from here,” Vierstraete said. 

Up next

Now 2-0 on the season, Marshall will return to action today when it goes on the road for a Big South Conference doubleheader against Belle Plaine (2-1) at 11 a.m. It will be the Tigers’ first time playing Belle Plaine. 

“They’re perennial powers. They do a great job, they’ve been in the state tournament a lot, they put out a lot of Division I players, and Pat Schultz up there does an outstanding job,” Pollock said. “We’re going to have our hands full again tomorrow, guessing we’ll maybe see another college arm, so we’ve got to be ready to go.”