EDMOND, OK – A stellar debut by Josh Walker and a strong opening day performance on the mound by a quartet of University of Mary pitchers lifted the Marauders to a 10-4 win at the University of Central Oklahoma. UMary scored three runs in each of the first two innings and held off a late charge by the Bronchos in the victory.
 
A transfer to UMary from Sacramento State University, Walker made an immediate impact for the Marauders, driving in five runs on three hits. The centerfielder had a double and a triple plus was hit by a pitch.
 
The Marauders struck quickly. With Daniel Martin on third base after hitting a double in his first at bat as a Marauder and Cal James on first after being hit by a pitch, Walker tripled to right field to score the first two runs of the season. Walker then scored on a wild pitch to give UMary an early 3-0 lead.
 
UMary doubled its advantage in the second inning. Redshirt freshman Kalem Haney singled to right in his UMary debut and scored on a Michael Polson double to left center. Martin, who transferred to the Marauders from the University of New Mexico, immediately followed with a 2-run home run to right field for a 6-0 UMary lead.
 
After striking out the first four batters of the game, UMary starter Austin Wagner was touched up for a trio of runs in the third inning as Central Oklahoma halved the Marauders lead to 6-3. Wagner soon righted himself and pitched two more scoreless innings before being removed from the game after five innings.
 
A run-scoring single by Walker in the 4^th inning to score Derek Shoen in the fourth was matched by the Bronchos in the 7^th inning. The Marauders put the game away in the 8^th with their 3^rd 3-run inning of the game. A 2-run single scoring Shoen and Martin was followed by a Ben Prediger sacrifice fly plating James for an insurmountable 10-4 lead.
 
Wagner allowed three runs in five innings to pick up the win. He had four strikeouts, didn't walk a batter and gave up just six hits. Halen Knoll pitched a scoreless 6^th inning while Joel McGrath kept the Bronchos off the board in the ninth. Parker Wakelyn gave up just one run in two innings of relief and struck out a pair of batters.
 
The top five hitters in the Marauders lineup produced 12 hits, seven RBIs and scored nine runs. Shoen was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a double. Martin finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored with a double and a home run. Polson was 2-for-6 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. James finished 2-for3 with two runs scored. He also was hit by a pair of pitches.
 
All three newcomers in the lineup who made their Marauders debuts in the game - Martin, Walker and Haney – had hits in their first plate appearances for UMary.
 
Knoll and McGrath also made their Marauders debuts in the contest.
 
Austin Lambert and Aiden Proctor, who also doubled and scored twice in the game, paced the Bronchos attack with two hits apiece. This is the first loss of the season for Central Oklahoma after opening with four straight wins.
 
Game times for the rest of the weekend between the Marauders and the Bronchos has changed. First pitch for both Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's single game was moved up an hour to 12 noon each day.
 
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