DICKINSON, N.D. - Unable to take advantage of several scoring opportunities, the University of Mary baseball squad saw a late lead escaped in a 6-3 loss at Dickinson State University.
Led by a three-hit performance by
Brad Meyer, the Marauders pounded out 11 hits in their first game in North Dakota this season. U-Mary batters also walked twice and had another hitter reach after he was beaned. The Marauders proved unable to take advantage of the largesse of runners, though, twice bouncing into doubles plays and once running into a triple play. U-Mary left seven runners on base while DSU, limited to just five hits, two walks and four hit batters, left six on base.
The Marauders offensive woes began in the first inning. After a one-out walk to
Jason Shaul was sandwiched around singles by
Tom Imholte and Meyer, the inning quickly concluded on a ground ball double play to third to home to first.
Using a double, a bunt single and a hit batter to load the bases in the bottom of the first, the Blue Hawks grabbed a 2-0 lead when a ground ball by Jacob Cuch resulted in two runs. U-Mary recorded a force at second that scored the first run but a relay throw to first went to the fence, allowing a second run to score unearned.
Shaul cut the Marauders deficit in half when led off the second inning with an opposite field home run to left. U-Mary's second home run of the season pulled the Marauders within 2-1.
A steady stream of U-Mary pitchers kept DSU off the board for six straight innings and kept the Marauders within striking distance. After allowing two in the first (one unearned),
Zach Steckler pitched a scoreless second inning. Nick Stobbe tossed a scoreless third,
Kenny Slominski struck out the side in the fourth,
McKeon Meyhoff fanned three hitters in two scoreless innings, and Meyer was perfect in the seventh with one strike out.
Running out of time, U-Mary struck for two runs in the eighth to take a 3-2 lead. After infield singles by
Andrew Beyer and Imholte, Shaul drove home Beyer with a single to left. A ground ball next forced out Shaul at second but left runners at the corners and one out. A
Will Pettener sacrifice fly to left field then scored Imholte with the go-ahead run.
The lead was short-lived as the Blue Hawks exploded for four runs in the eighth. After two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases, Cuch doubled to left to score two runs for a 4-3 DSU lead. A Marauders error scored the next run before pinch hitter John Hollingsworth capped the inning with a run scoring single to center.
U-Mary managed a two-out single in the ninth but couldn't scrape up any runs against Dickinson State reliever Jonathan Koessl, who picked up the save.
The first four hitters in the U-Mary lineup accounted for eight of the team's 11 hits. Meyer was 3-for-3 before leaving the hitting lineup to pitch. Shaul was 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, a run scored and two runs batted in. Imholte was 2-for-3 with a run scored and Beyer went 1-for-4 with a run scored.
Cush was 1-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored for DSU. Jake Young and Dylan Skabo both scored twice.
The Marauders (2-9) are off until a home rematch against the Blue Hawks (8-8) on March 23. U-Mary's home opener, first pitch in the varsity contest is set for 5 p.m.
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