WINONA, Minn. – Timely blows by
Trenten Hove and
Cory Dixon paired with a solid start from
Michael Vollrath provided the University of Mary its first Northern Sun conference baseball win of the season. U-Mary jumped to an early lead and held on for a 7-5 win at Winona State University to close out the weekend. The Warriors opened the day with an 18-7 win over the Marauders.
A fast start led U-Mary to the 7-5 win in the final game of the four game set. Just like the Marauders (3-19 overall, 1-7 NSIC) had done in the first three games against the Warriors (7-13, 5-3), the Marauders scored first. Unlike the first three games when U-Mary tallied in the opening inning, the Marauders waited until the second to cross the plate. Following a double by
Tom Imholte and a walk to
Mason Schiff, Hove drove a two-bagger to left field to score both runners and provide the Marauders their biggest lead of the weekend.
After the Warriors plated a run in the bottom of the second, the Marauders posted a three spot in the third.
Seth Meide singled to center to start the inning and
Brett Doepker earned a one out walk. Dixon followed with a three-run homer to right for a 5-1 lead. It was Dixon's team-high second round tripper of the season.
The lead increased to 7-1 on a
Clay Bassingthwaite pinch hit bases loaded walk and a sacrifice fly by Doepker.
Vollrath allowed just a single run through the first five innings before giving up a second in the sixth, his final stanza of the night.
Turning the game over to the bullpen,
Kenny Slominski pitched a scoreless seventh and
Travis Famias a scoreless eighth. In the ninth,
Zach Steckler was touched for three runs but induced a fly out to right field for the final out of U-Mary win.
Hove was the lone U-Mary batter with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. Dixon was 1-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. Schiff went 1-for-3 and scored twice.
Vollrath earned his first win of the season. The senior lefty allowed two runs on ten hits and two walks in six innings. He also struck out four hitters.
Mitchell Heid went 4-for-5 with a double, a run scored and an RBI for Winona State. Micheal Hommes added three of the Warriors 16 hits in the game.
The Marauders opened the scoring in the first game of the day when Dixon singled home Meide in the first inning. The Warriors responded with 17 straight runs in Winona State's 18-7 win over U-Mary.
The Warriors scored in five different innings and hit one home run in each. WSU tallied five times in the second, three times in the third and once the fourth before erupting for eight runs in the fifth. A solo home run in the sixth was the final tally for Winona State.
The Marauders offense began moving in the sixth when Fueurbach hit a solo shot and Hove followed with a 2-run blast. The momentum continued in the seventh as
AJ Schaefbauer, Hove and
Andrew Beyer all drove in runs while setting the stage for the U-Mary offense in the second contest.
Beyer and Feuerbach both posted two of the Marauders 12 hits in the opener. Hove led the squad with three RBIs.
The bottom three hitters in the Winona State lineup collected 10 of the Warriors 17 hits in the game. Kipp Yougquist was 4-for-4 with four runs scored and a run driven in. Taylor Field had three hits, two runs scored and five RBIs. Heid posted three hits, three runs and four RBIs.
After eight straight conference road games and 22 total outings, the Marauders home opener is set for Tuesday, March 31, when Augustana visits. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. and will be the Marauders first game at the renovated Municipal Ballpark.
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