BISMARCK, N.D. - Opening up the conference portion of their schedule at the friendly confines of the small field perched atop the campus hill, the University of Mary Softball team took on Wayne State College this afternoon on a chilly spring day in North Dakota.
 
The Marauders (6-15, 0-2 NSIC) had to deal with the ugly combination of a frail offense and a vulnerable defense as untimely miscues and 16 runners left on base over the course of two games spoiled their Northern Sun opening doubleheader against the Wildcats (8-15, 3-1 NSIC). U-Mary dropped the first game 6-2 with four defensive errors and nine runners left on base, and couldn't find an answer in the second game with a 3-2 loss on the heels of three defensive errors and seven runners left on base.
 
GAME ONE
 
Wayne State took the lead early in the first inning after Katelyn Wobken singled to second base and allowed Lexie Loos to score on an errant throw from the Marauder defense, but thankfully the Wildcats would strand two runners on base before they could increase their lead and the score remained at 1-0 heading into the bottom of the first.
 
U-Mary loaded up the bases in the bottom half of the inning after Taylor Mendez was hit by a pitch, Amber Gamboa reached on a Wildcat miscue, and Shawnee Zink drew a walk on four straight pitches with two outs. Unfortunately, the Marauders were unable to capitalize on the mistake as Cassy Miller struck out Kylie Alto to end the scoring threat.
 
Wayne State got some help from U-Mary's defense in the top of the second to pad their lead as Loos ended up reaching on a fielding error with two outs in the inning for runners at first and second, and the Marauders paid dearly for that error as Wobken drove the first pitch she saw over the left field fence for a three-run shot and a 4-0 Wildcat lead going into the bottom of the second.
 
U-Mary finally broke through on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third as Alana Norman led the inning off with a single by beating out the throw from third base on a soft groundball, and after swiping second during Demaree Rodriguez's at bat, ended up scoring on a groundout from Mendez to narrow the lead down to 4-1 heading into the top of the fourth.
 
Both teams battled back-and-forth from that point as Brieann Backes found a groove and allowed only two hits in her final two innings of work, while the Marauder offense got a solo shot from Colleen Crutchfield in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead down to 4-2 heading into the final inning.
 
Wayne State got two insurance runs in the top of the seventh as Emily Chandler scored on an RBI single from Sam O'Brien, and Melanie Alyea scored on the sacrifice fly from Alyssa Schropp to set the stage for the bottom half of the seventh with a 6-2 Wildcat lead.
 
Norman started the inning with a single as she beat another throw from the shortstop, but the closest she would get to home was sixty feet as she advanced on a groundout from Demaree Rodriguez in the following at bat and reached third on a Mendez fly ball to centerfield. Gamboa kept the inning alive as she was hit by a pitch, but Miller ended the Marauders' final chance to score as she forced a fly ball from Zink in the final at bat to solidify the score at 6-2.
 
Alana Norman recorded two of U-Mary's five hits in the contest, both singles, to go with one stolen base, while Colleen Crutchfield recorded the lone extra base hit with her solo home run in the sixth inning.
 
Brieann Backes took the loss for the Marauders to put her record at 1-4 as she went five innings and gave up 10 hits, four run and only one earned. Taylor Lara pitched two innings in relief and gave up two hits and two runs, one earned.
 
GAME TWO
 
The second game wouldn't turn out much better for the Marauders, unfortunately, as the misplays on defense still haunted U-Mary throughout most of the game. Wayne State loaded up the bases in the first inning on the heels of a single and two walks issued from starting pitcher MeLanie Rodriguez, but the momentum shifted on the fulcrum of a botched groundball during O'Brien's at bat that allowed Loos to score, followed by another walk to Schropp that scored Alyea, and a single back up the middle from Caitlin Fehringer to bring in Abbie Hix for a 3-0 Wayne State lead.
 
U-Mary got one of the runs back in the bottom half of the first as Norman led off with a single to left center, followed by a single from Mendez to get her to second and a single from Gamboa to bring her across the plate. Yet the offense ended up stalling in the inning as back-to-back fielder's choices resulted in the final two outs coming from third base and the Marauders had to deal with the 3-1 deficit heading into the second inning.
 
Deciding to take matters into her own hands, MeLanie Rodriguez buckled down and proved her Pitcher to Watch status from the preseason polls as she retired the Wildcats in order in the second inning, followed by three straight strikeouts in the third despite another defensive miscue allowing the leadoff batter to reach base.
 
Meanwhile, U-Mary's offense left runners aboard in the second and third and finally brought one home in the fourth as Alexandra McDermott walked with one out, Norman reached on a throwing error from the third baseman, and Demaree Rodriguez reached on the fielder's choice in a peculiar turn of events.
 
Demaree's groundball on the fourth pitch of the at bat made it's way to the shortstop and in the attempt to retire McDermott advancing to third, the resulting throw ended up ricocheting off McDermott's helmet and squeaked far enough away to let her score to cut the lead down to 3-2. Alas, that would be the last run they would manage in the inning as Shelby Wobken forced a groundball double play from Mendez to bring the inning to a halt.
 
MeLanie finally got some help from her defense in the top of the fifth as Chandler led the inning off with a booming hit to straight away centerfield, but a smart cut off from Norman and a strong throw back into second base sent the Wildcat back to the dugout as an out. Though the defense finally came through in the end, the offense sputtered and stalled the rest of the way as Shelby Wobken retired U-Mary's hitters in order through the final three innings of the contest, finalizing the score at 3-2.
 
Alana Norman and Amber Gamboa both finished with two singles in the contest, while Colleen Crutchfield recorded the lone extra-base hit once again on her double in the third inning.
 
MeLanie Rodriguez took the complete game loss to put her record at 3-7 and pitched a solid seven innings with six hits and three runs, no earned, to go with five strikeouts and three walks.
 
The Marauders will host Augustana University tomorrow to wrap up the NSIC opening weekend. The game times will be moved up two hours due to forecasted inclement weather, game one of the doubleheader is now scheduled to start at 10 AM CDT.
 
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