LIVE STATS VS UMC

Bismarck, ND – “So close” was a constant refrain for the University of Mary baseball team last season. In a year of transition under new head coach Joel Barta, the Marauders came up on the short side in one and two run games 16 times last season. This year U-Mary hopes the addition experience can change “so close” to “just enough”.
 
U-Mary opens the 2013 season against the University of Minnesota, Crookston in the Northern Sun Metrodome Baseball Classic at 10:45 AM on Saturday, February 16.  The weekend concludes against Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday, February 17, at 6 AM.  
 
The Marauders finished 1-7 in games decided by one run and 2-9 in games decided by two. U-Mary hopes an additional year of experience is enough to turn those numbers around.
 
U-Mary returns seven players who started at least 20 games. Twelve started at least eight games in the field.
 
James Carroll paced the Marauders offense last season. The senior from Moffitt, ND, led the Marauders with a .320 batting average and a .488 slugging percentage, hit four home runs and drove in 17. He also posted a .396 on base percentage. Carroll will play multiple positions, including catcher and designated hitter. Additionally he will probably see time at first base.
 
Alex Deyle continues to anchor the infield. The junior from Bismarck, ND, has started at shortstop since his first game as a freshman. Joining him up the middle at second is junior Austin Grunstad, who started 40 games for the Marauders last season. Another junior, Jeff Aders, also enters into the mix in the middle.
 
Kyal Williams, one of six seniors on the squad, will see time both in the infield and on the mound. After starting the year primarily at first he later became a fixture at third base and in the starting rotation.
 
A transfer from Ridgewater Community College, Jason Shaul also expects to see time at the hot corner and potentially hit third in the order. Juniors Derek Sommerville and Sam Salveson will both see time on the corners.
 
Outfielder Cory Herback returns to again hit towards the top of the lineup. The junior from Pembroke, Ontario, scored 21 runs last year and drove in 15. Marice Burrough, who returned to action last year after missing the 2011 season due to a football injury, may move to center field after playing primarily right field his first three seasons. Another senior, Michael Stevenson, is looking to start in left. Salveson and Scott Held may also find time in the outfield.
 
The Marauders pitching staff hopes to continue the improvements made on the mound last season when the team cut its earned run average by nearly two runs from the previous season.
 
U-Mary returns four pitchers who started at least six games last season, seniors Jeff Skadeland and Williams and sophomores McKeon Meyhoff and Michael Vollrath.
 
Williams posted the top ERA in the group at 5.44 and he tied for the team lead in complete games with two. Skadeland was a hard luck loser in several games where one inning would cost him the chance for a win. He threw 59 innings but was winless in 11 decisions. Meyhoff tossed 61 innings last year to lead returning hurlers.
 
Newcomer Shane Trattles, a junior transfer from Ridgewater, may also garner some starts.
 
Travis Famious had a successful freshman season for the Marauders in 2012. The Bismarck, ND, native led the team with three saves and posted 20 strikeouts in 21 innings. Several other Marauders will also play key relief roles, including Salveson, Christopher Jolly, who primarily caught last year, and Brad Horan, who led the team with a 2.08 ERA.
 
The Marauders also have several other young players who will have a chance to make an impact on the field as U-Mary moves from “so close” to “more than enough.”
 
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