AUBURNDALE, Fl. – Jake Johnson and Ryo Takenaka combined to throw a no-hitter, leading the University of Mary baseball team to the Marauders first win of the season and a doubleheader split with Point Park University. The Marauders claimed the second contest 3-2 in extra innings after the Pioneers won the opener 6-3.
 
Johnson tossed the first six innings and Takanaka the last two as the Marauders won on a defensive interference call with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
 
Making his first start of the season, Johnson went six innings, striking out five and walking five. He allowed two runs, just one of which was earned. The sophomore also hit a batter.
 
Takanaka, who relieved Johnson in the seventh after the sophomore right-hander walked the first two hitters of the inning, recorded one strikeout and didn't allow a baserunner.
 
The Marauders opened the scoring with two runs in the second inning. After Drew Feuerbach walked and Tom Imholte singled on a chopper over the third baseman to start the inning, both later moved into scoring position on a Pioneers throwing error. With two outs, Andrew Beyer hustled down the line to beat out an infield tapper fielded by Pioneers shortstop Jake Horew in front of the bag. On the throw to first, Feuerbach scored easy from third. In a surprising move, Imholte never broke stride rounding third and slid under the tag on the belated throw home from PPU first baseman Andy Chacon for a 2-0 U-Mary lead.
 
The Pioneers, ranked 19^th in the NAIA, began chipping away at the Marauders lead with single runs in the fifth and seventh.
After eight straight batters were retired by Johnson, the first two PPU hitters reached in the fifth on consecutive errors by U-Mary. Following a sacrifice bunt, a grounder to short scored Filimon Perez with an unearned run to cut the Marauders lead to 2-1.
 
In the seventh, two walks, a sacrifice bunt and a grounder to short with Takenaka on the mound scored Daniel Sanchez with the tying run.
 
The Marauders finally caught a break in the eighth inning. Freshman Travis Stevens led off with an opposite field single to left. Pinch runner Trenten Hove proceeded to steal second and move to third on a balk.
 
In an "oh no, oh yes" moment, the Marauders suicide squeeze attempt looked about to fail when Imholte couldn't reach the pitch for a bunt. Hove trapped off third, started for home but was bumped in the base path by a Pioneers defender. Immediately the umpires called defensive interference and awarded Hove home plate for the winning run in U-Mary's first win of the season.
 
U-Mary belted out nine hits, including two each by Beyer and Meyer.
 
The Marauders were a touch luck loser in the opening game of the day, a 6-3 decision for the Pioneers.
 
A back and forth game, the Marauders twice tied the contest in the opening innings. Will Pettener singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the second inning to pull U-Mary even at 1-1. Freshman Daulton Sauce tripled to lead off the third inning and scored on a Seth Meide ground out to short to knot the game 2-2.
 
Back from missing last season with injury, Jason Shaul reminded people of his potent bat in the fifth. With two outs, the all-conference lefty slugger crushed a pitch over the right field fence for a 3-2 U-Mary lead on his first home run of the season.
 
The lead was short-lived as PPU responded in the bottom of the fifth. Demetrius Moorer opened with a single, stole second and scored on a base hit by Chris Hernandez through the left side.
 
Following U-Mary's inability to take advantage of a pair of two-out walks in the top of the sixth, PPU turned a major Marauders miscue into the winnings runs.
 
With runners on first and second and two outs, Travis Holte came on in relief of Nicholas Stobbe and should have been the final out of the inning instead extended the stanza. On a grounder to the right side, Meide's toss to short for the force at second was dropped to load the bases. Moorer followed with a 2-run single to right center before Shane Conley singled through the right side for the third run of the inning.
 
In 5.2 innings, Stobbe allowed five hits, two earned runs and three walks while striking out four.
 
Nick Beardsley was valuable for PPU on the hill, allowing two earned runs and striking out five.
 
Shaul was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored on his home run.
 
Moorer was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
 
U-Mary (1-2 overall) next plays a doubleheader against Tiffin University on Sunday, Feb. 28, in Auburndale, Florida.                                                                  
 
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