Fighting Fish advance to state finals

• Fish celebrate

Ryan Gilbertson, left, Nate Schurman and Adam Brathol celebrate after Gilbertson retired the side in the ninth inning to preserve the Fighting Fish’s 6-2 victory over the Oulu Blue Jays Saturday in Osceola. Bob Burrows photo.

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The River Falls Fighting Fish advanced to the Wisconsin Baseball Association state finals for the second year in a row with a pair of wins in the state semifinal round over the weekend in Osceola.

The Fish defeated the Oulu Blue Jays, 6-2, Saturday before routing the Grantsburg Honkers, 12-1, Sunday at Osceola’s Oakey Park.

Marty Herum broke Saturday’s game open with a three-run home run in the third inning and went 4-for-5 with two runs scored Sunday to lead the Fish at the plate over the weekend. River Falls pounded out 22 hits in Sunday’s win over Grantsburg.

Rick Wells threw seven innings of two-hit ball to earn the victory over Oulu. Dan Morgan and Nate Schurman combined to keep the Blue Jays off the scoreboard in the eighth before Ryan Gilbertson retired the side in the ninth to preserve the win.

Matt Walker picked up the complete-game victory Sunday against Grantsburg, allowing one earned run on four hits while striking out seven and walking three.

River Falls will open the state finals Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in Coon Valley against the tournament host Chaseburg-Coon Valley Blues. The winner will face either the Superior Lakers or the Onalaska A’s Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. The state championship game is scheduled for Sunday at noon.

Tags: sports, fighting, fish, baseball, proam