THIS WEEK
This is a big week for the University of Mary baseball team. First the Marauders open their home schedule with a non-conference game before Northern Sun play begins on Good Friday.
 
Completing a home-and-home series, U-Mary hosts the Dickinson State University Blue Hawks on Wednesday, March 23, at Municipal Ballpark. Game time for the single 9-inning varsity game is 5 p.m. (Note: The Marauders and the Blue Hawks will play a junior varsity game at 3 p.m.). 
 
The Northern Sun season starts with a four-game set at the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) Cougars on March 25-26. Doubleheaders both days begin at 12 noon and are scheduled to be played at Harmondon Park.
 
THE RECORDS
U-Mary is 2-9 overall… Dickinson State is 11-15 overall… Sioux Falls is 6-9 overall.
 
LAST WEEK
U-Mary did not play last week and last saw action on March 9 at DSU when the Blue Hawks rallied past the Marauders 6-3… The Blue Hawks went 3-7 at the Tucson (Ariz.) Invitational Games… The Cougars went 1-3 in California, dropping a pair to Bethesda (Calif.) and splitting with La Sierra.
 
JOHNSON TOPS NATION IN WHIP, HITS ALLOWED
Jake Johnson has dominated opposing hitters in his first three outings of the season and leads NCAA Division II with a microscopic WHIP of 0.47 (WHIP is Walks plus Hits divided by Innings Pitched) and in hits allowed per nine innings (1.2). 
 
In 15 innings, the sophomore right-hander has allowed just two hits and five walks while striking out nine. The Cambridge, Minn., native didn't allow a hit in six innings of his first start of the season and joined with Ryo Takenaka to throw a combined eight-inning no-hitter in a 3-2 Marauders win. In his second outing, he allowed two hits over nine innings against West Virginia Wesleyan in what became a 2-1 loss in 12 innings.
 
Additionally teams have scored just one earned run off Johnson, who is first in the Northern Sun and seventh in the NCAA with a 0.60 ERA.
 
SHAUL BALL
After missing last season with injury, University of Mary senior Jason Shaul is back to punishing pitchers with a vengeance. The second sacker / outfielder is among the NCAA and Northern Sun leaders in several categories. Hitting .485 with a .622 on base percentage and a .758 slugging percentage, the New Ulm, Minn., native is fourth in NCAA Division II in on base percentage, 11^th in batting average and 39^th in slugging percentage. His average of .91 walks/game is 28^th in the nation. In the NSIC, Shaul is third in OBP, fifth in batting average and seventh in slugging.
 
In 11 games, Shaul is 16-of-33 with three doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs and seven runs scored with 10 walks and twice was hit by a pitch.
 
In his career, Shaul is hitting .375, second all-time in U-Mary history to Scott Marquardt's .387 batting average from 1999-2001.
 
MEYER MASHINGS
New Marauders 3B/RHP Brad Meyer is off to an impressive start at the plate. The junior from Pierz, Minn., is hitting .447 with a .488 on base percentage and a .579 slugging percentage. He is 28^th in the NCAA in hitting and 140^th in OBP. Through 11 games, Meyer is 17-of-38 with three doubles, a triple and seven RBIs.
 
IMHOLTE IGNITES OFFENSE
Sophomore catcher Tom Imholte is off to a fast start offensively and leads the Marauders in hitting and on base percentage. The St. Cloud Native is batting .588 with a .667 on base percentage and a .706 slugging percentage. In nine games he is 10-of-17 with a team-best eight runs scored. He has yet to strike out this season.
 
WHIFF!
Senior lefty McKeon Meyhoff has shown an impressive surge in strikeouts this season. Through 14.1 innings, Meyhoff has struck out 17 hitters. His average of 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings is sixth in the NSIC and 56^th in NCAA Division II. After opening the season with four strikeouts in five innings against Point Park, Meyhoff set down a career-high ten hitters in 7.1 innings in an extra-inning win over Findlay. In a two-inning relief appearance against Dickinson State in his last outing, Meyhoff struck out three in two innings of work. 
 
A four-year member of the starting rotation, Meyhoff has recorded 124 strikeouts in 183 innings and has a chance to reach the Marauders career record in both categories. Michael Vollrath finished his career last spring with 206.1 innings pitched at U-Mary. Kyle Lozensky struck out a school-record 142 batters in his Marauders career. 
 
10
The Marauders open the conference season with ten straight road games. After playing four games against the USF Cougars on March 25-26, U-Mary visits Concordia-St. Paul on April 2-3 for a pair of twin bills. The Marauders then return to Sioux Falls for a midweek doubleheader against Augustana on Wednesday, April 6. U-Mary then begins a 14-game NSIC home stand on April 9 against Minnesota State.
 
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