SAN ANTONIO – A last ditch rally in the final inning of opening day left the University of Mary a run short of gaining a split. St. Mary's University claimed a home sweep over the Marauders baseball team with 5-1 and 3-2 wins.
GAME 1: St. Mary's University 5 University of Mary 1
Pitching in a collegiate game for the first time since May 3, 2013,
McKeon Meyhoff was solid on the hill for the Marauders. The junior lefthander allowed three earned runs in five innings to keep U-Mary close in its first game of the season.
After missing last year due to injury, Meyhoff allowed single runs in both the first and second innings. Meyhoff kept the Rattlers off the board in the third before St. Mary's doubled its lead in the fourth with two runs, one of which was unearned.
Meyhoff closed his day by tossing a scoreless fifth inning. The Hazen, N.D., native went a total of five innings, allowed four runs, three earned runs, eight hits, two walks and two strikeouts.
The Marauders scored their lone run of the game in the seventh inning.
Brett Doepker led off the final inning with a walk and eventually scored on a ground out to short by
Seth Meide.
Andrew Beyer picked up two of the four Marauders hits in the game.
Will Pettener and
Drew Feuerbach also recorded singles.
Kris Gardner kept the Marauders offense in check, allowing just four hits and three walks while tossing a seven inning complete game for the Rattlers.
Jacob Marler was 2-for-2 for St. Mary's and scored twice. He had a double, stole a base and was hit by a pitch.
GAME 2: St. Mary's 3 U-Mary 2
Another strong performance by a U-Mary starting pitcher still left the Marauders short in a 3-2 loss to St. Mary's. The Rattlers posted single runs in the first, second and seventh innings to edge the Marauders.
Nicholas Stobbe tossed strong six innings for the Marauders, allowing just five hits and two walks. After allowing the two initial runs, the sophomore righty blanked the Rattlers his last four innings.
Held hitless for the first three innings, the Marauders offense showed life in the fourth. Beyer walked to lead off the inning and
Trenten Hove followed with an infield single. The rally was quickly extinguished when
Sean Hennen grounded into a 5-4-3 triple play.
The Marauders next chance to score came in the seventh. Down 2-0, Hove walked and took second on a wild pitch but was gunned down attempting to steal third.
Refusing to fade away but now down 3-0,
Clay Bassingthwaite and
Ethan Meide opened the ninth with singles and moved into scoring position on a Rattlers error. Bassingthwaite scored on a ground out by
Austin Ell before another infield single by Hove brought home Meide. After an infield pop-up for the second out, Hove stole second to move into scoring position. The Marauders magic ran out, however, on a called third strike to end the game.
In his first appearance of the year, Rattlers pitcher Matt McClain picked up the win after throwing five scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and one walk and struck out three. John Lynch pitched four innings, allowed one earned run, and earned the save.
U-Mary was limited to four hits for the second straight games. Hove picked up two of the hits and drove in a run. Derek Hamilton posted two of the Rattlers six hits and stole a base.
The Marauders (0-2 overall) and the Rattlers (6-4) conclude the four game set on Saturday, Feb. 21, with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
#marauders#
