THIS WEEK
A 14-game Northern Sun home stand begins this weekend when the University of Mary hosts Minnesota State University in four conference games on Saturday and Sunday, April 9-10.  Playing a pair of doubleheaders, the first pitch on both Saturday and Sunday is set for noon at Municipal Ballpark.
 
The Marauders will interrupt their conference schedule with a single game at NCAA Division I North Dakota State University on Tuesday, April 12, at 5 p.m.
 
RECORDS
The Marauders are 4-17 overall and 2-7 in the Northern Sun… The Mavericks are 14-9 and 5-4… Entering the weekend the Bison are 12-13 overall before hosting four games with IPFW.
 
LAST WEEK
The Marauders finished last week 1-5, all NSIC games. U-Mary won 1-of-4 at Concordia-St. Paul before being swept at Augustana in a midweek doubleheader… The Mavericks swept a four-game home set against Bemidji State.
 
HOME COOKING
The Marauders are scheduled to play 14 of their next 15 games at home and 19 of 22. Included in this run is 14 straight Northern Sun games and 18 of 20. The lone interruption is a single game at NCAA Division I North Dakota State on April 12 and a pair of NSIC games at Minot State on April 27. U-Mary concludes the season with six straight NSIC league games.
 
HISTORY
U-Mary was swept in four games last season at Minnesota State… The Mavericks have won five straight… The Marauders last win over the Mavericks was a 2-1 walkoff win on April 9, 2014, in Bismarck, N.D., in the opening game of a midweek doubleheader. Jason Shaul and Jeff Aders scored with two outs in the bottom of the seventh when MSU pitcher Mathias Butala threw a tapper back to the mound by Sam Ingemansen down the first base line for an error… All-time U-Mary is 4-23 against Minnesota State (2-8 home, 0-8 away, 2-7 neutral).
 
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
One of the top programs in the country, Minnesota State has reached the NCAA Division II tournament seven straight seasons under head coach Matt Magers with four trips to the College World Series... Eric Peterson, who leads the Mavericks with 29 runs scored and in on base percentage, has a slash line of .329/.495/.479 with two home runs and 14 RBIs. Taylor Branstad has driven in 23 runs and is hitting .326/.434/.453. Five players are hitting at least .326, six are slugging a minimum of .430 and four have an on-base percentage of .408… Dakotah Belter owns a 3-0 record and two saves with a 2.30 ERA in eight appearances and 15.2 innings. In five starts, Mitchell Bauer is 3-1 with a 3.75 ERA. Brady Rodning, with a 2-1 record and a 5.28 ERA, leads the team with 30.2 innings pitched and 32 strikeouts.
 
CLOSE
The Marauders are 3-5 in one-run games. In games decided by three or fewer runs, U-Mary is 3-9.
 
JOHNSON AMONG NATIONAL PITCHING LEADERS
Another strong start by Jake Johnson has kept the Marauders righthander among the NCAA Division II leaders in WHIP (walks and hits/nine innings) and hits/nine innings. The sophomore from Cambridge, Minn., improved to 2-0 with a 6-5 win at Concordia-St. Paul. In eight innings he allowed five runs on nine hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.
 
Johnson is now 4^th in the country in hits/nine innings (4.66) and 10^th in WHIP (0.83). His 2.48 earned run average is 97^th in the country. For the year he is 2-0 in four starts spanning 29 innings. Johnson has allowed 15 hits, nine walks and owns 25 strikeouts.
 
IMHOLTE, SHAUL AMONG NATION'S HITTING, ON BASE LEADERS
Tom Imholte and Jason Shaul are developing into one of the nation's top 1-2 punch, or 2-3, depending on the lineup. Not including Wednesday's doubleheader at Augie, where each player was 3-for-6 with a walk, the duo ranks among NCAA Division II leaders in on base percentage and batting average. Senior outfielder Jason Shaul ranks second nationally in on-base percentage (.588) and 10^th in batting average (.453). Imholte, a sophomore catcher, is eighth nationally in batting average (.458) and 18^th in on-base percentage (.534).
 
INCENDIARY IMHOLTE
After hitting just .227 as a freshman, though with a .370 on-base percentage, sophomore Tom Imholte has more than doubled his batting average in year two. In his first 19 games this season, the catcher is hitting .458 with a .534 on-base percentage and a .583 slugging percentage. He has 15 runs scored and six doubles with three RBIs. There are only three games this season that Imholte has played when he hasn't had a hit, and one of the three contests he didn't have an official at bat.
 
SURE SHOT SHAUL
After a slump where he was 3-of-14 over a five-game span, Jason Shaul has regained his stroke. Beginning with a career-best 5-hit performance on Sunday in the Marauders 6-5 win at Concordia-St. Paul, the senior outfielder 10-of-17 in his last five games. During this recent stretch Shaul has five RBIs with two doubles, a home run and a run scored. For the season Shaul is hitting .453 with a .588 on-base percentage while slugging .672. In 21 games he has five doubles, three home runs, 14 RBIs and 11 runs scored. He has walked 15 times and been hit by six pitches while striking out just six times. The New Ulm, Minn., native is now hitting .379 in his third season at U-Mary, second in school history behind Scott Marquardt, who batted .387 from 1999-2001.
 
DOUBLE DUTY
Junior Brad Meyer has been a key member in the Marauders everyday lineup and on the mound. In his first season at U-Mary, the Pierz, Minnesota, native is hitting .382/.440/.471 with four doubles, a triple, eight RBIs and three runs scored as the team's primary cleanup hitter and third baseman. He also has been the team's starting pitcher three times. Meyer is tied for the team lead with two complete games and is third in innings pitched with 20.1.
 
TOUGH LUCK LEFTY
Senior lefthander McKeon Meyhoff remains in search of his first win of the season. Last Sunday Meyhoff tossed one of the best games of his career, allowing just four hits with one walk and four strikeouts in a six inning complete game. The only run in the 1-0 loss was unearned. For the season Meyhoff has a 5.13 ERA over five games – four starts – covering 26.1 innings. He has allowed 27 hits and eight walks with 23 strikeouts. 
 
RIGHTY-LEFTY
Late inning relievers Ryo Takenaka and Travis Holte, both sophomores, are a fire-balling righty-lefty combo for the Marauders. Takenaka is 1-0 with a save and a 3.00 ERA in seven games, all in relief. In nine innings the righthander has allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out five. A lefthander, Holte has appeared in a team-high ten games, posting a 3.12 ERA. Over 8.2 innings he has struck out nine, walked eight and allowed seven hits.
 
NEXT WEEKEND
The Marauders host Winona State University on April 16-17 at Municipal Ballpark.   
 
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