BISMARCK, ND – The University of Mary baseball team honored all 13 of their seniors before the Marauders final home game of the season and the subsequent result was impressive. In their final home game for the Blue & Orange, UMary seniors accounted for four runs, nine hits and nearly five innings of scoreless relief in the Marauders 6-4 victory over Southwest Minnesota State University. The victory gives the Marauders back-to-back wins over the Mustangs with UMary capturing the Northern Sun series two games to one.
Twelve of 13 UMary seniors played in the game. Six of the seniors had hits with
Chris Scott leading all players with three. Scott also picked up a save in the game as he combined with four other senior pitchers to strike out six hitters and hold the Mustangs to two hits and no runs over 4.2 innings of relief.
The only senior not in the box score was
Charles Bielejeski after he pitched in relief in both games the day before and earning the save in game two.
The Marauders jumped out to a quick lead, scoring twice in the first inning when
Darius Barlas brought home
Jaxon Ford on a sacrifice fly and a
Jesus Payan single to right field drove in
Connor Doll.
The game took a sudden turn against the Marauders in the third inning when a pair of errors and two SMSU hits led to four runs for the Mustangs.
With no outs and SMSU baserunners on first and second in the third, the Marauders turned to freshman
Brandon Gill to stem the tide and the righthander responded in spectacular fashion. Gill induced the first batter he faced to hit a grounder at first baseman
Daulton Sauce. Not content to just retire SMSU hitter Ben Heichel at first, Sauce fired the ball to Barlas covering second base to tag out Jake Hendricks at second base for a double play. Now with a runner on third and two out, Gill escaped the inning as Jayden Fleck flew out to Payan in right field.
The Marauders wasted no time in tying up the game in the bottom of the third. A Scott single to center scored Ford for the first run. Scott then stole second. When the Mustangs throw in hopes of nabbing Scott at second skipped into center field, Barlas scored the second run of the inning to tie the game at 4-4.
UMary regained its lead in the fourth. An infield single from Doll scored Sauce with the go-ahead run before Barlas pulled a single through the right to score McCann with an insurance run.
The rest of the game belonged to the Marauders bullpen. After keeping the Mustangs in check since entering the game, Gill allowed a leadoff double in the fifth. He retired the next hitter on a popup in foul territory before senior
Travis Holte was summoned. The lefty came on to strike out the next hitter and finishing the inning on a lineout to Payan.
Senior
Ian Fisher took care of the sixth inning before needing assistance from senior
Colin Gudereit in the seventh. Entering the game with two runners aboard and no outs, Gudereit struck out the first hitter he faced before getting the next two outs on a popup and a ground ball.
Next up was senior
Alec DeMaria, who pitched a perfect eighth inning, retiring the Mustangs in order.
The ninth inning belonged to Scott. The Marauders closer struck out the first two Mustangs hitters before the game became interesting. After a base hit, Scott walked the next two hitters to load the bases. Scott and the Marauders escaped the jam when Barlas fielded the ball up the middle and stepped on second base for the force out to end the game.
Gill earned his first collegiate win with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. He allowed one hit, struck out two and didn't walk anyone.
In addition to earning his third save, Scott was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base. Sauce added two hits and a run scored. Doll had one hit, scored once and drove in a run. Payan had a hit and an RBI. McCann posted a hit and scored a run.
Ford was the Marauders only non-senior with a hit. The junior centerfielder was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a stolen base.
The Marauders close out their 2019 schedule with five games on the road. UMary plays a midweek doubleheader at St. Cloud State on May 1 before playing three games at Northern State on May 3-4.
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