Late-inning heroics propel Bulldogs to district title
Jaxon Millage, who scored the game-winning run, celebrates MFL MarMac’s district semifinal victory over Waukon with teammate Jacob Schellhorn. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Bulldog Ben Krambeer drove in the winning run in the district final against New Hampton.
Parker Kuehl slides safely back to first base in MFL MarMac's win over Waukon on July 5.
Bulldog first baseman Landon Johnson attempts to tag an Indian runner out.
Austin Evanson pitched four strong innings for the Bulldogs against Waukon, then also tossed several innings in the district final victory over New Hampton.
Brayden Gordon connects with a pitch in the game against Waukon.
Bulldog shortstop Jacob Schellhorn makes a throw to first base in the district semifinal game last week.
MFL MarMac catcher Austin Schlee snags a pitch in the win over Waukon.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
Heading into the season, MFL MarMac coach Paul Gordon liked his baseball team’s chances to make a playoff run. Now, thanks to a seventh-inning rally over New Hampton in the July 8 Class 2A - District 6 final, the Bulldogs are just one game away from qualifying for the state tournament.
MFL MarMac trailed the Chickasaws 3-1 at the top of the seventh, when Dustin Larson was hit by a pitch and Austin Schlee walked to get two runners aboard. New Hampton then misplayed a Bryce Radloff bunt, with two throwing errors allowing pinch runner Carter Lightfoot, then Schlee, to score and tie the game.
A Parker Kuehl bunt next advanced Radloff to third base, and Jacob Schellhorn put runners on the corners with a bunt single of his own. Bulldog RBI leader Ben Krambeer then hit a ball to the Chickasaw shortstop, and Radloff was able to beat the throw home, putting the Bulldogs up 4-3.
Krambeer sent New Hampton down in order in the bottom of the seventh to cap off the win and three strong innings of relief. He allowed just two hits and two walks, while striking out five, in that span—including working out of a sixth inning bases-loaded jam.
Schellhorn had three hits for the Bulldogs, and Radloff and Jaxon Millage both singled and scored. Elias Hatt had a hit and RBI.
The district final wasn’t the only late-inning nail biter for MFL MarMac last week. The Bulldogs relied on an extra inning win over Waukon in the July 5 district semifinal to keep their postseason hopes alive.
MFL MarMac struck first in the top of third inning, when Kuehl, who reached on a single then advanced to second and third on a steal and pass ball, scored on a Krambeer ground out. An RBI double by Landon Johnson later plated Schellhorn and Millage, after a Waukon infield error extended the inning.
The Indians scratched a run across in the bottom of the inning—the first blemish against Bulldog starter Austin Evanson, who’d set the team down 1-2-3 in the two opening frames.
Waukon miscues allowed the Bulldogs to tack on three more runs in the fourth, starting with a bases-loaded hit batter in Krambeer. Kuehl crossed the plate on a wild pitch, then Schellhorn made it home on a bases-loaded balk.
The Indians halved the deficit to 6-3 in the bottom of the fourth, then the bases remained quiet until the bottom of the seventh, when a three-run Waukon rally tied the game. The game-winning run was thrown out at home, sending the contest into extra innings.
Schellhorn, who entered in the fifth, extended the game after pitching out of an eighth-inning jam. The Bulldogs then took a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth on a two-out Schlee single—just inches shy of a homerun—that scored Millage.
Waukon couldn’t muster another rally, advancing MFL MarMac to just its third district final game in the past 20 years (2003, 2020 and 2023).
The Bulldogs (20-11) were set to face Cascade (23-8), the Class 2A - District 5 champion, on Tuesday, July 11, at Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex in Cedar Falls. The Cougars advanced with a 10-0 win over Denver. The winner will qualify for the state tournament.
