THIS WEEK
The University of Mary baseball team opens Northern Sun action on the road this week with an aggressive schedule, playing seven games in six days against three different teams at three separate locations.
 
Due to the potential for bad weather, the Marauders conference opener against the Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul was pushed back a day to Thursday, March 25. First pitch is set for 1:30 pm at Veterans Field on the campus of Minnetonka (MN) High School.
 
The Marauders next play a trio of games at Minnesota State University, Mankato, on Saturday and Sunday, March 27-28. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 1:30 pm at Bowyer Field in Mankato, MN. Sunday's single game starts at 12 noon.
 
UMary concludes its opening road trip with a pair of games at Winona State University on March 30. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 pm.
 
RECORDS
The Marauders are 2-3 overall… The Golden Bears are 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the NSIC after taking 2-of-3 games last weekend from Minnesota Duluth at home… The Mavericks swept Bemidji State on opening weekend and are 6-1 overall and 3-0 in NSIC play prior to hosting UMD in a doubleheader on March 25… The Warriors are 5-5 overall and 2-3 against the NSIC after losing three games to Minnesota Crookston and sweeping a twin bill against Bemidji State. Winona State hosts UMD in three games this weekend before playing the Marauders on Tuesday.
 
THIS YEAR
The Marauders opened the season with a pair of wins, downing Missouri Western 7-2 in the season opener and Southwest Baptist 3-1 in the opening game of a 4-game set. SBU then claimed the next three games.
 
THE TEST
The Marauders face a grueling opening week against three of the projected top eight teams in the NSIC. Minnesota State is projected to finish second, Winona State sixth and Concordia-St. Paul eighth.
 
ACES HIGH
The Marauders received three outstanding performances from the starting pitching to start the season. In his first appearance for the Marauders after transferring from NCAA Division I Abilene Christian, lefthander Austin Wagner pitched four scoreless innings in the win over Missouri Western. In four innings he allowed no runs on one hit and one walk, striking out four... Jonathan Draheim followed with a complete game effort in a 3-1 win at SBU. The sophomore righthander retired the first 16 hitters he faced in the game. His final line was four hits, one run, no walks and five strikeouts in seven innings… Sophomore righthander Daniel Turner then came through with another gem limiting the Bearcats to two runs on three hits and three walks in 5.2 innings, striking out three in the process.
 
BOX SCORE GEMS

• Andrew Brooks pitched three times in relief, allowing no hits and two walks while striking out six in 2.1 innings of work
• In his lone outing of the season, Mark Schommer has a pitching line of one run on two hits and a walk with three Ks in 3.0 innings of work

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Dakota Finley is off to a hot start for the Marauders, posting a slash line of .400/.474/.667 with an OPS of 1.141 to lead UMary in each area. The leftfielder has two doubles, a triple and a team-high five RBIs.
• Right fielder Braxton Inniss is hitting .333 with a .455 on base percentage in the leadoff slot for the Marauders. He owns am 844 OPS with a team-best five runs scored.
• Soph. 3B Calvin James is hitting .286 with a pair of doubles and has knocked home three runs
• 1B/P Derek Shoen is hitting .333 with two doubles and a triple among his four hits. He is second on the team with three runs scored and owns two RBIs.

 
ON THE RUN
The Marauders have stolen 12 bases in 13 attempts this season. Ty Jones, Calvin James, Braxton Inniss and Dakota Finley are all 2-for-2 on steal attempts.
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Spencer Gillund returns to anchor the infield at shortstop. The former NJCAA All-American, NCAA Division I transfer and Northwoods League player posted a 905 OPS in limited play last season for UMary. The Enderlin, ND, native also was a 2-time all-region player at Bismarck State College and is the Marauders NSIC Player to Watch… Newcomer Austin Wagner is UMary's Pitcher to Watch. The lefthander is a transfer from NCAA Division I Abilene Christian, where he was the Wildcats top starter. Wagner ranked 6th in the nation in strikeout—to-walk ratio (22-to-1) and was among the Southland Conference leaders in WHIP (0.81) and ERA (1.96). the Wisconsin native led his hometown Fond du Lac Dock Spiders to the 2018 Northwoods League title… Wagner headlines a deep pitching staff for the Marauders. Sophomores Daniel Turner and Jonathan Draheim enter their third year in the starting rotation. Turner was 2-1 with a 0.91 WHIP last year, including a win over national power Central Missouri... Outfielder Ty Jones and infielder Derek Shoen, in his first year at UMary, will both see double duty in the field and on the mound… Paxton Miller and Andrew Brooks gained valuable experience with the Bismarck Larks in the Northwoods League last summer and key a bullpen that will also feature Shaun Hickey, Liam Sommer, Jayden Smith, Mitch Oehme, Anthony Leedle, Kody Jones and more… Third baseman Cal James made an immediate impact with the bat last year as a true freshman. OF Braxton Inniss, a transfer from NCAA D1 Northern Colorado, and C Tyrus Barclay, a grad transfer from Emporia State, will play key roles.
 
HOME
The Marauders make their home debut on April 2-3 when UMary hosts the University of Sioux Falls for a three-game set with a solo game on Good Friday and two games on Saturday. It is the start of a 10-game home stand for the Marauders.
 
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