BISMARCK, ND – The University of Mary jumped out to quick starts against visiting Upper Iowa University but the Marauders were unable to maintain their momentum. The Peacocks rallied to sweep the Northern Sun doubleheader, taking game one 6-5 in extra innings before claiming the second game 7-2.
  
GAME ONE | Upper Iowa 6 UMary 5 (9 innings)
A fast start by the Marauders fell to the wayside as the Peacocks rallied for an extra-inning win. Scheduled for seven innings, Upper Iowa scored a pair of unearned runs in the 7^th inning to remain alive before taking the opening game victory with a single run in the ninth inning.
 
UMary scored four times in the first inning. Following a sacrifice fly by Noah Hull, Kendall Keller crushed a 3-run blast over the right field fence.
 
Keller just missed his second home run of the day in the 4^th inning. After Upper Iowa scored two in the third, the Marauders right fielder doubled off the top of the right field wall with one out. James Martin immediately followed with a double to right center to score Keller for a 5-2 Marauders lead.
 
The Peacocks tallied once in the 5^th to set up a dramatic seventh.
 
Austin Wagner had another stellar start for the Marauders. The junior lefty struck out a career-high 12 batters in 6.0 innings pitched. He allowed seven hits, three walks and three runs. Wagner struck out two hitters in each of the first and second innings before registering all three outs in the third and fourth innings on strikes. He fell one strikeout short of the Marauders NCAA era single game high of 13 by Jake Johnson against the University of Minnesota Duluth in May 2016.
 
PIVOT POINT
Following a lead off bunt single by Ryan Hull in the top of the seventh, UMary relief pitcher Derek Shoen retired the next two hitters. Needing one more out for the win, a defensive miscue by the Marauders kept the Peacocks hopes alive as Hull came in to score. After a stolen base, a single by pinch hitter Casey Zarr scored Ethan Sawyer to knot the game at 5-5 and force extra innings.
 
After neither team scored in the eighth, Jake Hilmer singled to center with two outs. Another UMary error allowed Sawyer to reach and the inning to continue. Sage Stellmacher immediately followed with a single to center to score Hilmer with the winning run.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Kendall Keller | 2x4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBIs
• James Martin | 2x4, 2B, 1 RBI
• Austin Wagner | 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 12 K
• UIU Sam Marhefke| 3.0 IP, 1 H, 3 K

 
STAT OF THE GAME
Wagner and Shoen combined for 15 strikeouts, one shy of the NCAA era team mark of 16 set earlier this season at CSU Pueblo… UMary was limited to one hit over the last five innings by a pair of UIU relievers.
 
GAME 2 | Upper Iowa 7 UMary 2
The Marauders opened strong for the second straight game but it was the Peacocks that again finished with the win. UMary scored twice in the first inning to grab a 2-0 lead. Three straight singles by Calvin James, Derek Shoen and Noah Hull gave the Marauders a 1-0 lead. A Krece Papierski sacrifice fly then scored Shoen doubled the UMary. But it was the last time the Marauders scored in the game.
 
UMary starter Kody Jones kept the Peacocks off the scoreboard until an unearned run in the 3^rd inning. Two more runs scored in the 4^th for a 3-2 UIU lead. A 3-run sixth inning sealed the sweep for Upper Iowa.
 
The Peacocks out-hit the Marauders 11-6.
 
PIVOT POINT
The Marauders kept withing striking distance until the 6^th inning. A 2-run single by Hull and a run-scoring single by Nicholas Vite broke open the contest.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Kody Jones | 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 Ks
• Shaun Hickey | 1.0 IP, 0 R, 1 K
• UIU Keaton Parker | 5.0 IP, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K

 
STAT OF THE GAME
Krece Papierski threw out three would-be Peacocks base stealers to tie the Marauders NCAA-era single game record. Sam Ingemansen threw out three base stealers against Mayville State in 2014 and Sean Hennen did the same against Sioux Falls in 2015.
 
UP NEXT
The Marauders and the Peacocks close out their three-game Northern Sun weekend series on Sunday, April 9, with a single 9-inning game. First pitch is set for 12 noon at Municipal Ballpark in Bismarck, ND.
 
UMARY-SIOUX FALLS SITE CHANGE ON TUESDAY, APRIL 12
Due to the forecast for inclement weather in the upcoming days, the University of Mary baseball doubleheader with the University of Sioux Falls is undergoing a site reversal. The Marauders-Cougars NSIC twin bill on Tuesday, April 12, will be played in Brandon, SD, at the First National Bank Field.  
 
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