MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY
To honor the service and sacrifice of the men and women who defend our country, the University of Mary baseball team holds its annual Military Appreciation Game on Saturday, April 11, when the Marauders host Concordia University, St. Paul.
 
Admission is free. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m.
 
Sponsored by the North Dakota National Guard, the Marauders will wear camouflage jerseys and hats during the Northern Sun doubleheader.
 
THIS WEEKEND
The Marauders conclude a ten game home stand when U-Mary hosts Concordia University, St. Paul in a pair of Northern Sun doubleheaders. The Marauders and the Golden Bears first face off in a Military Appreciation Day twin bill on Saturday, April 11, at 1:30 p.m. The weekend wraps up with a doubleheader on Sunday, April 12, at 12 noon.
 
RECORDS
The Marauders enter the weekend 3-25 overall and 1-13 (15^th) in the Northern Sun… The Golden Bears are 10-12 overall and 8-6 (5^th) in the NSIC.
 
HISTORY
The Marauders last beat the Golden Bears on April 6, 2008, when Michael Feldman hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth for a 1-0 U-Mary win. Feldman was the winning pitcher of the first game that day, a 2-1 Marauders victory. Since that day the Golden Bears have won 15 straight games against the Marauders… This will be the Golden Bears first visit to Bismarck since 2012.
 
NEW DIGS
After playing home games primarily on campus the past two years, the Marauders finally return to a renovated Municipal Ballpark last week. Following $3 million in renovations to the grandstand and the field, the remodeled Municipal Ballpark officially opened last summer and is now one of the best fields in the region. New dugouts, fences and a soon-to-be-completed practice field provide improved opportunities for players. For spectators, the facility features a new grandstand with individual stadium seats, an overhanging canopy to provide shade, improved concessions and restroom facilities, vastly improved sightlines and an upgraded scoreboard. Fans behind home plate are now approximately 25 feet closer to the action than prior to the renovation. Seating improves from 1,000 to 1,600 with the possibility to hold 2,000 fans. Additionally, the press box was greatly expanded.
 
ON FIRE
Drew Feuerbach is on fire for the Marauders and enters the weekend with a nine-game hitting streak. The sophomore from Omaha, Neb., is hitting a team-high .368 with a .559 slugging percentage and a .394 on base percentage for the season. He moved into the cleanup slot during a huge six game tear last week in which he hit .476 with a .667 slugging percentage in six games last week. Fueurbach went 10-for-21 with four doubles, two runs scored and an RBI. He posted three multi-hit games in a row and was 5-for-7 in a doubleheader against Sioux Falls on Friday. Fueurbach's top performance was a 3-for-4 effort with a double and a run scored on Friday against USF.
 
THE LEADERBOARD
Newcomer Sean Hennen has fit right in with the Marauders. The transfer from Ellsworth Community College leads the Marauders in hits (30) and runs batted in (16) while holding down the third slot in the line up. The Chanhassen, Minn., native has caught, played right field and been the designated hitter for U-Mary. For the season he is hitting .326 with a .394 on base percentage and a .424 slugging percentage with eight runs scored, four doubles, a triple and a home run. Last week Hennen hit .444 with a .545 on-base percentage in six games last week, going 8-for-18. He wrapped up the week with two hits in each of the last three games and was 4-for-6 in the doubleheader against USF on Saturday.
 
CLUTCH
Clay Bassingthwaite had a strong weekend performance against Sioux Falls, finishing 5-for-8 with four RBIs and two runs scored. The redshirt freshman from Wahpeton, N.D., drove in runs in all three games he played. His top performance was a 3-for-4 effort with a run scored and an RBI in the series finale. It was Bassingthwaite's first collegiate multi-hit game.
 
RING 'EM UP
Austin Ell became just the sixth U-Mary pitcher to record double digit strikeouts during the Marauders NCAA era (2007 and on) with his midweek effort against Augustana. The freshman lefty from Delta, B.C., punched out 10 Vikings in seven innings. Ell allowed just five hits and one walk in his longest start of the season. The only other Marauders to punch out ten or more are Kyal Williams (12 vs. Penn. State Brandywine in 2013), Nate Watson (11 vs. Winona State in 2009), Matt Leer (10 vs. Minnesota Crookston in 2007), Kyle Lozensky (10 vs. St. Cloud State in 2010) and Shane Trattles (10 vs. Ohio Valley in 2014).
 
9-1-2
When the Marauders hit the bottom of their batting order the lineup may just get going. Soph. OF Trenten Hove has hit ninth for U-Mary most of the season and is hitting .257 with a .360 on base percentage. He is second on the team with 13 runs scored and third with 10 RBIs. After Hove, the lineup turns over to Andrew Beyer. The sophomore centerfielder has a .265 batting average with an impressive .460 on base percentage. He has scored 13 times. In the second slot, redshirt freshman second baseman Seth Meide is hitting .291 with a .367 on base percentage with 12 RBIs and a team-high 14 runs scored.
 
YOUNG
Of the 14 Marauders who have ten or more at bats this season, only three are upperclassmen and none are seniors. Junior shortstop Mason Schiff and sophomore outfielders Andrew Beyer and Trenten Hove are the lone returning starters for the Marauders. Newcomer Sean Hennen, a junior, has moved into the lineup daily at catcher and right field. Redshirt freshman Seth Meide has locked down second and freshmen Will Pettener and Brett Doepker have played primarily first and third, respectively. Another freshman, Tom Imholte, is the backup catcher. Another newcomer, junior Cory Dixon, has seen considerable time in right field. Sophomore junior college transfer Drew Fueurbach has played at third and the outfield
 
WELCOME BACK
After missing last season while recovering from an injury, McKeon Meyhoff has moved to the top of the Marauders rotation. The junior lefty leads U-Mary with 37.1 innings pitched and is second with 24 strikeouts. He also has two complete games. In all six starts Meyhoff has gone at least five innings and posted a career-high eight against nationally-ranked Minnesota State.
 
ON BASE MACHINE
Andrew Beyer has found a high level of comfort at the top of the Marauders lineup. The sophomore outfielder is reaching base at a clip of .460, the 12th best on base percentage in the Northern State. He is second in the NSIC with 27 walks.
 
EVERYDAY KENNY
Freshman hurler Kenny Slominski quickly has established himself as the person to go to in the Marauders bullpen. He leads all NSIC pitchers with 16 appearances, all in relief. Slominski has pitched 15.2 innings with ten strikeouts.
 
NEXT WEEK
The Marauders play a doubleheader at nationally-ranked St. Cloud State University on April 15 before a four game weekend set at the University of Minnesota Crookston on April 18-19.
 
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