BISMARCK, ND – Behind the trifecta of strong pitching, solid defense and clutch hitting, the University of Mary baseball team swept their first doubleheader of the season. The Marauders defeated the Upper Iowa University Peacocks 3-1 and 4-2.
Mary starting pitchers
Nicholas Stobbe and Alex DaMaria allowed one earned run in a combined 12.1 innings and
Chris Scott and
Cory Dixon both earned saves.
Offensively the Marauders were led by
Andrew Beyer and
Lane Huck. Beyer either scored or drove in five of Mary's seven runs. The senior leadoff hitter finished the day 4-for-7, scoring three runs and driving in two. Huck was also 4-for-7, driving in three runs in the second game.
In a turnaround from Saturday when the Peacocks scored multiple runs in the top of the first, the Marauders opened up the scoring in both games by plating runs in the home half of the opening inning.
Beyer led off the first game with a single to center and took second on a sacrifice bunt by
Seth Meide. After movng to third on a Peacocks throwing error, the senior from Fargo, ND, scored on a 2-out single by Huck to right field.
Another two-out hit in the second plated two more runs for Mary. With the bases full, Beyer lined an opposite field single down the left field line to score
Cody Ghents and
Daulton Sauce.
Now with all the runs he needed already on the board, Stobbe took control of the game. Despite allowing the leadoff hitter aboard in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings, the senior righthander bared down each time to limit the threat. Only in the fifth did a second hitter reach base before a strikeout and a groundout ended the threat.
The Peacocks broke through in the sixth. With two outs, a pair of singles sandwiched around a walk led to a run. The rally ended when the Marauders picked off Mitch Moser at third.
Scott took to the hill in the seventh. Coming into pitch after playing left field, the sophomore struck out the first two hitters he faced looking. After a Marauders error extended the inning, a groundout to short ended the game.
Beyer finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Huck also had two hits.
Stobbe allowed one run on five hits and four walks in six innings. He struck out three. Scott struck out two in his one inning of work for the save.
Colton Janssen had two of the Peacocks five hits. Brett Fanning pitched a complete game, allowing six hits and two earned runs in six innings.
Just as in the opener, Beyer opened the nightcap with a single. In game two he scored the opening run of the game on a single by
Travis Stevens, who later came home on a single by Huck for a 2-0 Mary lead.
Just like Stobbe, DeMaria then took control. Despite struggling at times to find the strike zone, the sophomore righthander kept the Peacocks from crossing the plate in the first six innings. After allowing two baserunners in each of the first two innings, DeMaria retired all six hitters he faced in the third and fourth innings. He would walk a batter in each of the fifth and sixth innings but both times managed to get out of the inning unscathed.
A walk and an error contributed to Upper Iowa's first run of the game in the seventh. Summoned from the bullpen,
Will Pettener immediately squelched the insurrection, striking out the first hitter he faced and closing the inning on a fly ball.
Mary extended its lead with two in the bottom of the seventh as Huck singled to center to score Siverson and Beyer for a 4-1 lead.
After Upper Iowa pushed across another run in the eighth, Dixon came into the game with two on and one out. The senior walked the first hitter he faced before retiring the next two batters. The ninth also proved dangerous after a walk and an error led to the tying run coming to the plate but Dixon was up to the challenge, stranding both runners to earn his first Marauders save.
DeMaria earned his first win after allowing just one hit and one unearned run in 6.1 innings. He struck out three and walked six. Dixon pitched 1.2 scoreless innings.
Beyer finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Huck was 2-for-4 with three runs batted in. Stevens had a hit, scored a run and drove in a run.
Tyus Adkins struck out seven hitters in 6.1 innings for the Peacocks.
Mary visits Concordia-St. Paul for a Northern Sun doubleheader on Tuesday, April 11, before hosting Northern State on April 14-15.
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