Duluth Marshall senior Owen Marsolek hurled two-hit shutout with 17 strikeouts to lead the Hilltoppers to a 3-0 victory over Proctor at Siebert Field on Monday.
The crafty, left-handed pitcher walked one in his complete-game, 97-pitch performance and kept the Rails’ hitters off balance by mixing his 90-mph fastball with a breaking ball and changeup.
“I was able to keep my pitch count down by throwing strikes,” said Marsolek, who threw 70 pitches for strikes while raising his record to 4-0 on the mound.
This season, Marsolek has registered 61 strikeouts in 33 ⅔ innings for the unbeaten Hilltoppers (10-0).
“Throwing strikes allows me to stay in games longer,” said Marsolek, who outdueled highly touted Proctor senior Nick Terhaar because of that aspect.
A 6-3 overpowering righthander who throws in the low 90s, Terhaar struggled with wild pitches on the mound while only lasting three innings. The Iowa recruit fanned four, walked four, hit a batter and uncorked two wild pitches while throwing 64 pitches.
“Our batters did a good job working the count and making him throw a lot of pitches,” said Marsolek, a Western Kentucky recruit.
The Hilltoppers, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, provided Marsolek with all the support he needed by scoring twice in the second inning. They also benefitted from a walk, an error and a wild pitch. Evan Lammi-Goorhouse drove in the second run with a single down the right-field line.
