Marathon advances to sectional title game this evening

STEVENS POINT – It was déjà vu for the Pacelli and Marathon baseball teams on Tuesday afternoon.

For the second year in a row, the Raiders (18-4) were able to knock out the Cardinals (26-3) in the WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinals, this time winning 4-1.

Marathon will face the winner of the No. 1 Coleman v. No. 1 Saint Mary game for the title at 6 p.m. tonight.

Last year Ryan Gassner pitched a 1-hitter and had a solo home run for the team’s 1-0 win. In Tuesday’s win, he allowed just four hits and fanned 12 while walking five. Gassner was also able to strand 10 Cardinals runners.

“(Ryan) didn’t have his best velocity, and he didn’t have his command that he usually does,” Marathon coach Steve Warren said. “Baseball is not an easy game and sometimes you have to play when you’re not at you’re best. He was able to get through it and we supported him with some defense.”

Gassner also scored half of the team’s four runs on two hits including a triple and an RBI to round out his performance.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about (last year) a little bit,” Gassner said. “I’m always trying to help myself out, so getting those hits at the beginning and having those other guys behind me to get me to score, it definitely helps. You want as many runs as you can possibly get just for insurance.”

The Raiders were able to start out swinging hard in the first inning, where they scored three of their four runs.

Noah Dirks led off with a single, and Gassner’s triple knocked him in for the first run with just one out. As Williamson reached on an error, Gassner scored the Raiders second run.

The third tally came from designated hitter Carter Hanke, who connected on a double to score Williamson.

“It was a team effort really, we even had a couple freshman who had to contribute in an emergency situation because we had a player injured last week in practice, so we got some young guys in there that did a good job today,” Warren said.

Hanke, one of the freshman in the lineup, had two hits and an RBI in the victory. Williamson also connected on a pair of hits including a double and an RBI.

For the Cardinals, Matt Helms went the distance, striking out three while walking as many and allowing eight hits. Helms stranded nine Raiders in the loss.

“He threw well, the first inning was a little tough on him,” Pacelli coach Wayne Sankey said. “They had a couple extra base hits and I give them credit, they hit the ball coming right out of the gates. I thought Matt buckled down and made some good pitches there in the later innings.”

Defensively, the Cardinals had a couple of key errors that cost them, and it might’ve been proof that last year’s meeting with the Raiders was still stuck in their heads.

“We knew what to expect, we wanted to forget about last year and focus on this year but similar outcome, I give them credit they were able to beat us two years in a row,” Sankey said. “Obviously a tough one to swallow but, so be it I guess.”

Chris Shibilski was able to draw walks out of Gassner on two of his three at bats. Freshman Nate Helms scored the Cardinals’ only run by drawing a walk, then stealing second and finally coming home on his brother Matt’s RBI.

“Not only was it a very successful season record-wise, but I think the biggest thing is the kids worked hard,” Sankey said. “It was a fun group of kids to be around.”

WP - Ryan Gassner 7 IP, 12 K, 5 BB. LP - Matt Helms 7 IP, 3 K, 3 BB. 3B: Marathon - Gassner. 2B: Marathon - Carter Hanke, Landen Williamson.

Nina N. Salazar: 715-345-2253, or nsalazar@gannett.com. On Twitter as @Ninansalazar