Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm VFW Silver first baseman Tanner Kissner makes a throw during a Junior Upper Midwest Classic baseball game against Wilmar Saturday at Mueller Park.

NEW ULM — A six-run sixth inning helped the New Ulm VFW Silver put away Wilmar 17-6 in six innings to advance to the Junior Upper Midwest Classic Semifinals Saturday at Mueller Park.

“We were really patient at the plate, and that was good,” New Ulm head coach Blaine Olson said. “We were really patient when they weren’t throwing a lot of strikes. Letting the ball come to us, hitting good pitches and not really chasing at all.”

The Silver now match up with Mankato West Sunday at 12 p.m. at Johnson Park for a chance to head to the championship game.

“It means a lot,” Olson said. “We worked really had this weekend and our bats are coming around. Playing good defense and pitching well at the right time.”

Robert Rewitzer earned the win on the mound for New Ulm, striking out two and allowing four runs, one earned, on four hits and three walks in four innings of work. At the plate, Owen Drill was 2 for 4 with five RBIs and a run scored, while Wyatt Hansen was 2 for 3 with three runs scored. Tanner Kissner added a hit, four RBIs and two runs scored.

The Silver put up two runs in the first inning, the first on an error put into play by Rewitzer and the second as Kissner drew a walk with bases loaded. Rewitzer and Drill both collected RBIs in the second inning by drawing walks with bases loaded as well before Ethan Drill hit a single to drive in another run. New Ulm stayed hot as Kissner hit a two-RBI double, then Kissner took home on a double steal for a 8-0 lead after two.

Wilmar put up its first run of the game in the third, but New Ulm responded in the fourth as a Kissner grounder brought home Hudson Lieser for a 9-1 advantage. Wilmar caught some momentum putting up three runs in the fourth to cut the lead to 9-4. New Ulm kept the offense going, however, with a double by Owen Drill scoring Blake Johnson and Hansen to make it an 11-4 game. Wilmar was able to respond with a pair of runs in the fifth to put the score at 11-6, but Brock Nachreiner started off the sixth inning scoring with a double to bring home Kissner and Lieser. Owen Drill singled to score two more runners, then stole home on a double steal for a 17-6 lead. Owen Drill came in to pitch the final inning, collecting two strikeouts and not allowing a run to secure the win.