Duluth Marshall baseball’s Section 7AA championship title win came Thursday evening when the Hilltoppers defeated Proctor 6-3, now they shift their focus to the Class AA state tournament.

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Leading the team from the mound Thursday was sophomore Alden Marsolek, who pitched a full game to help the Hilltoppers secure their win. Alden credits his success to his teammates, but especially his older brother Owen, a senior pitcher who currently leads the state in strikeouts with 123.

“He’s a mentor. I look up to him in every way. He’s a lefty and I’m a righty, but… I don’t know. It’s just I take everything from him, all the lessons, everything. And that’s actually one of the things you see. And so, I like throwing strikes and just getting ahead of guys. And that’s… that’s from him, he contributes to my pitching very much so,” said Alden Marsolek.

Owen Marsolek is also ranked in the top ten in the state in hits with 33.

“My mindset was do or die, so I was going to do anything to my power to better our chances to win. Whether it was picking up again in the dugout or having a big hit and a big smile,” said Owen Marsolek.

The Hilltoppers last made it to the state tournament in 2022 and still boast some of the same teammates from that original roster, including seniors like Owen Marsolek and Max Berrisford.

“We went my freshman year and that was obviously really fun. But being a senior, it’s kind of like almost a little cooler feeling. I would say I didn’t quite know what it meant when I was a freshman, but after losing in sections my sophomore and junior year, being able to go again as a senior is definitely something that I’m proud of our team for and I’m really excited to go do,” said Berrisford.

The Hilltoppers advance to the Class AA state tournament, beginning on June 11th. Click here to view the full tournament bracket.