MANKATO, Minn. - Wrapping up their fourth doubleheader in six days, the University of Mary Softball team took on Minnesota State University this afternoon with the hopes of climbing up the conference standings with the Northern Sun Tournament less than two weeks away.
 
Unfortunately, the Marauders (14-28, 8-15 NSIC) ran headfirst into Coley Reis as she baffled U-Mary hitters en route to a two-game sweep for the Mavericks (35-12, 18-5 NSIC) at 8-0 and 11-1.
 
GAME ONE
 
The Marauders were limited to one hit in the opening game of the day as Amber Gamboa drove a two-out single to left field in the top of the first, but the Marauders had no answer for Reis, or reliever Libby Bemis, as they went down in order the rest of the way en route to the 8-0 decision.
 
Meanwhile, the Mavericks were more than capable of jumping out to the early lead as Dana Mogren drove a groundball hard at Kylie Alto in the bottom of the first that allowed McKenzie Paap to cross the plate and gave Minnesota State a 1-0 advantage.
 
The Mavericks built on their lead in the bottom of the second as Karli DesLauriers drove a deep shot to the right center gap and brought in two more runs as she ended up on third to set the score at 3-0 going into the third.
 
Paap added to Minnesota State's lead in the bottom of the fourth with a two RBI single that brought in DesLauriers and Jess Meidl for a 5-0, while Reis continued to deal as she finished with nine strikeouts in five innings pitched.
 
Like a looming deadline that drew ever closer, the Mavericks inched closer to the eight-run cushion in the bottom of the sixth that would bring the game to a halt as Paap padded her RBI total with a single back up the middle to score Meidl for a 6-0 Minnesota State lead, and Tatum Klein brought the first game to a halt with a double to right field for the final two runs, as Paap and Alyssa Rickels crossed the plate, to end the game early at 8-0.
 
MeLanie Rodriguez took the loss for the Marauders as she started in the circle and lasted four innings before Taylor Lara came in relief.
 
GAME TWO
 
If the first game was any indication of how the day was going, the second certainly left no room for doubt who would end up with the win as Reis footed the bill once again in the starting circle for the Mavericks on the backend of the doubleheader.
 
Minnesota State struck first once again as Klein scored on a double steal attempt in the bottom of the first, while Ashley Thell singled down the right field line to bring in Mogren for a 2-0 Maverick lead.
 
Alto provided the lone run for U-Mary in top of the second as she drove the 1-0 pitch from Reis down the left field foul line for her second home run of the year, but Reis quickly fell back into a groove as she struck out the final batter and ended the game with six punch outs in three innings.
 
Minnesota State got the run back, and then some, in the bottom of the second as DesLauriers reached on a fielder's choice groundball to score Cori Kennedy, Paap singled through the left side to bring in Rickels, Mogren reached on a squeeze bunt to score DesLauriers, Samantha Buhmann brought in Paap on an RBI groundout, and Thell capped off the rally with a double to right center to score Mogren to set the tally at 7-1 going into the third.
 
Reis gave up a one-out single to Alana Norman in the top of the third and plunked Demaree Rodriguez on a full count pitch for runners at first and second, but remained steady as she forced an infield fly from Gamboa and a popup from Taylor Mendez to quell any hopes of cutting into the Mavericks' lead.
 
In the meantime, Minnesota State added to their run total in the bottom of the third when Paap singled to left field to score Kennedy, and after a scoreless top of the fourth from reliever Libby Bemis, the Mavericks got their final runs on a bases-clearing double from Meidl as she doubled to left field to score Thell, Buhmann, and Mogren, but was thrown out trying to stretch her hit into a triple for the first out of the inning.
 
The Marauders had little hope to mount another comeback as Bemis struck out the first two hitters in the top of the fifth and brought the game to it's conclusion with a groundout to set the score at 11-1.
 
Alana Norman and Demaree Rodriguez each finished with a single in the contest, while Kylie Alto had the lone run on her solo shot in the second.
 
Brieann Backes took the loss as she started in the circle for U-Mary and went 3.1 inning before Taylor Lara came in relief once again.
 
The Marauders will begin the final week of the conference season with a road doubleheader against the University of Minnesota Crookston on Wednesday, April 20, with first pitch scheduled for 2 PM CDT.
 
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