WINONA, Minn. – Unable to keep in check their opponent's big inning capabilities, the University of Mary baseball team suffered a pair of Northern Sun losses to Winona State University. Playing as the home team on the road after poor weather conditions forced a site swap, the Marauders fell 6-2 and 11-0 to the Warriors.
While U-Mary held tight early in both games, the Warriors outscored the Marauders 12-2 over the final three innings of both games combined. In the doubleheader, WSU held an 18-8 edge in hits, including a 6-1 advantage in extra base hits, and had five multi-run innings to one for U-Mary.
In the opener, Marauders starting pitcher
Zach Steckler kept the Warriors off the board until the third inning when Winona State used a Marauders miscue to score three times. After a single and an error, Ryan Nyhagen hit a 2-run triple to left center and scored on a wild pitch.
Posting only an infield single by
Brad Meyer in the first four innings, the Marauders crossed the plate twice in the fifth to pull within 3-2. With one out Clay Bassignthwaite was hit by a pitch.
Seth Meide followed with an infield single to third. A throwing error by Warriors starting pitcher Mitchell Stalsberg on a ball hit by
Mason Schiff allowed Bassignthwaite to score with Meide moving to third. A
Trenten Hove fly ball to right field scored Meide with what turned out to be the final run of the day for the Marauders.
Quickly retaliating, the first two Warriors in the sixth inning homered to push the WSU advantage to 5-2.
Needing runs fast with time running out, Meyer doubled to lead off the bottom of the sixth for the Marauders but couldn't advance beyond third base. U-Mary would go down in order in the seventh.
Meyer recorded two of the Marauders three hits in the game. Steckler pitched 5.1 innings and struck out six. He gave up six hits and five runs, though just four runs were earned.
Stalsberg struck out 11 without a walk, gave up three hits and didn't allow an earned run in five innings for WSU.
As they did in all three games they won in the four game series, the Warriors opened the scoring, plating two runs in the first inning of the night cap. After the first three WSU batters reached base on a hit by pitch, a walk and a single, Mitch Voter hit a two-run double.
Freshman pitcher
Charles Bielejeski, making his first varsity start for U-Mary, then found his command, inducing three straight ground balls to get out of the inning without allowing any more runs. He then kept the Warriors off the board for the next three innings.
A five run outburst for Winona State in the fifth inning, highlighted by a 3-run home run from Jesus Cazares, increased the Warriors advantage to 7-0. Another four runs in the sixth pushed the contest beyond the reach of U-Mary.
Five different Marauders posted hits in the game, including
Tom Imholte. Fifteenth in the nation in on base percentage and batting average, the Marauders catcher was 1-for-1 and was twice hit by a pitch. Meyer added a single and finished the day 3-for-6 in the two games.
Josh Nielsen pitched a complete game for WSU, allowing just five hits and three walks in seven innings. He struck out two.
The Marauders return home to face the nation's top ranked team. St. Cloud State University, in a Northern Sun doubleheader on Wednesday, April 20. The games start at 1:30 p.m. at Municipal Ballpark.
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