WAYNE, NE – A quick start by the bats and impressive pitching performances by Kody Jones and Liam Sommer carried the Marauders to a 7-3 win over the University of Minnesota Duluth. The fourth straight win for the Marauders opened a three-game series relocated to Wayne, NE, due to a spring storm covering North Dakota.
 
The Marauders opened the game with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Kyle Jameson and Derek Shoen, among the nation's leaders in being hit by pitches, both reached base when they were struck by a pitched ball. A two-out single by Noah Hull scored Jameson before Krece Papierski doubled to left center to score both Shoen and Hull.
 
UMary extended its lead to 4-0 in the second inning. James Martin shot a leadoff triple the opposite way down the right field line and scored on a Dakota Finley sacrifice fly to right.
 
Jones was sharp through the first three innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four before running into issues in the fourth inning. After a leadoff walk and a double scored the Bulldogs first run, Brodie Paulson hit a 2-run home run to right to close the gap to 4-3. Jones then quickly righted the ship. Following a ground out and an infield single, Jones posted two more strikeouts to close out both the inning and the UMD scoring for the day.
 
Jones finished his day by pitching a scoreless fifth inning.
 
Sommer came on board to start the sixth inning and quickly found himself in trouble. After a leadoff double followed by a wild pitch and a walk to put runners on the corners, Sommer struck out two batters before inducing a fly out to Jameson in center to end the inning without allowing a run. Sommer then followed with two scoreless innings, retiring nine of the final ten hitters he faced.
 
The Marauders augmented Sommer's efforts with two more runs in the sixth on back-to-back RBI doubles from Finley and Michael Polson. Kendall Keller closed the scoring with a run-scoring double in the seventh.
 
Gabe Ridenour earned his first career save for the Marauders. Entering the game with the bases loaded and two outs the freshman struck out Tim Pokornowski to end the game.
 
Eight Marauders starters had hits in the game. The only starter without a hit was Shoen, who scored twice after he reached base after being hit by a pitch and walking.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Kody Jones | 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
• Liam Sommer | 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
• Derek Shoen | 0x2, 2 R, BB, HBP
• Krece Papierski | 1x4, 1 2B, 2 RBIs
• James Martin | 2x2, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 BB, 1 SAC
• Dakota Finley | 1x2, 1 2B, 2 RBIs

 
STAT OF THE GAME
Cal James tied the Marauders school record for doubles in a season when he hit his 16^th two-bagger of the season in the fifth inning… Six of UMary's nine hits went for extra bases. UMD had four extra base hits on six total hits… Four Marauders pitcher combined to strike out 13 batters.
 
NEXT UP
The Marauders and Bulldogs 3-game NSIC series concludes with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 16. The first pitch is scheduled for 12 noon at the Pete Chapman Complex in Wayne, NE.
 
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