Aitkin at Duluth Marshall

Preview

The Aitkin Gobblers punched their ticket to the AA state tournament with a thrilling 1-0 win over top seed Duluth Marshall to win the Section 7AA Championship.

The Gobblers were the undefeated team going into the title matchup and were hoping to avoid playing twice. It was scoreless through five innings as a pair of senior pitchers, Marshall’s Minsoo Park and Aitkin’s Brandon Kunz were controlling the bats and only had to work through minor jams.

With one out in the top of the sixth, The Gobblers’ Bo Sanford reached on an error. After a flyout, Kunz stepped up and delivered a double down the right field line scoring Sanford from first.

Kunz allowed base runners to the Hilltoppers in both the bottom of the sixth and seventh, but they didn’t advance past first base.

The Gobblers take a 23-2 record to the state tournament, their third overall trip and first since 2021. Marshall finished 19-8.

WP: Brandon Kunz 7IP, 0R, 5 H, 1BB, 3K
LP: Minsoo Park 7IP 1R (0 ER), 5H, 6K