THIS WEEK
In a series that has been pushed back a day due to weather, the University of Mary baseball team continues their Colorado visit with a trio of games against #23 Metropolitan State University of Denver on Saturday and Sunday, February 25-26. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 pm CST with a single game Sunday at 1 pm CST at the Assembly Athletic Complex in Denver, CO.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders opened their trip to the Mile High City with a split on Tuesday at Regis University. The Marauders scored the last nine runs of the game in a 12-5 win in the opener as Kalem Haney and Kyle Jameson combined for five doubles and seven RBIs… The Rangers rallied for an 8-7 win in the nightcap. Derek Shoen hit a home run, scored twice and drove home two runs in the game.
 
THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 3-5 this season… The Roadrunners are 9-2 on the year.
 
RANKED
The Marauders have faced a pair of teams ranked in this week's NCBWA Top 25 poll. Central Oklahoma is currently #13. Upcoming weekend foe MSU Denver is #23.  
 
MARAUDERS ROW
The Marauders offense is off to a tremendous start this season. UMary has posted double digit runs in four of nine game and has scored five or more in seven of eight games… The Marauders rank 4^th in home runs/game (2.25), 5^th in slugging percentage (.653), 6^th in doubles/game (3.25), 19^th in scoring (9.9 runs/game), and 19^th in on base percentage.
 
CONTACT
Cal James is one of the toughest players to strike out. He has gone down on strikes just once in 27 official at bats, ranking 13^th in NCAA D II.
 
KA -BOOM
Nine different Marauders have hit home runs this season. Noah Hull, Daniel Martin and Josh Walker have three home runs each. Overall the Marauders have cracked 18 home runs in just eight games.                                      
 
4 DIGIT OPS
Five Marauders own an OPS (On-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of four digits. Noah Hull leads the way at 1.583, followed by Derek Shoen (1.380), Josh Walker (1.330), Cal James (1.204) and Krece Papierski (1.202).
 
IMPACT DEBUTS
Outfielders Josh Walker and Dan Walker have made an immediate impact for UMary. A transfer from Sacramento State, Walker is hitting .385/.484/.846 with three home runs and a team-best 12 RBIs… Martin is slashing .257/.350/.571 with three home runs, nine RBIs and nine runs scored.
 
RECORDS
The Marauders set team records for runs (26), hits (24), RBIs (25) and home runs (9) in a 26-14 win at Southern Nazarene on February 14.
 
PROJECTIONS
After back-to-back NSIC tournament appearances – the first in program history – the Marauders were picked to finish 4th in the 2023 NSIC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll. This is the highest preseason projection for the Marauders since beginning play in the NSIC in Spring 2007.
 
2023 MARAUDERS NSIC PRESEASON PITCHER TO WATCH
Lefty Austin Wagner had a second straight dominant season for the Marauders and set a couple strikeout records along the way. The senior from Fond Du Lac, WI, posted a record of 5-4 with three complete games across 68 innings in 12 starts, all team-highs. He struck out a UMary season-record 92, an average of 12.2 per innings. His 15 strikeouts against the Bulldogs broke the school record. Wagner also walked just 15 batters and had a WHIP of 1.06.
 
2023 MARAUDERS NSIC PRESEASON PLAYER TO WATCH
A 2-time first team all-conference selection, Derek Shoen broke the Marauders single season records for home runs (15) and RBIs (51) in 2022. The senior from Truman, MN, scored 50 runs and hit .339 with a .473 on base percentage and a .644 slugging percentage. Schoen also picked up a pair of saves. Additionally he was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District baseball team. Only the fourth UMary player to earn 1st team All-NSIC honors, Shoen set single game school records with three home runs and seven RBIs last spring. Shoen is 3rd all-time at UMary with 25 career home runs and 9th in RBIs with 83.
 
KEY RETURNERS
An experienced ballclub, the Marauders return eight regulars in the field and nine pitchers from last year's squad. Key returners for the Marauders include 2021 All-NSIC third basemen Cal James, who set a school record with 18 doubles last year, SS Michael Polson, outfielders Kyle Jameson and Kendall Keller, OF/1B Noah Hull, and catchers Krece Papierski and Ben Prediger. Returning starting pitchers include Jonathan Draheim, who with 11 career wins is closing in on Ryan Astle's school record of 11, Kody Jones, Parker Wakelyn and Joseph Sinclair. Relievers who saw significant action last year include Liam Sommer, Paxton Miller, Mark Schommer, and Jayden Smith.
 
CAL CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Cal James, the 2021 NSIC Rookie of the Year and all-conference player, set a UMary record last season for doubles with 18. He is 7th all-time at UMary with 31 (record 44 by Tyler Liffrig). The junior third baseman is also 8th all-time in RBIs with 84 (Jeff Wedul and Tyler Liffrig 144) and 7th in home runs with 18 (Liffrig 39).
 
2022 IN REVIEW | RECORDS EDITION
Here's an (almost) complete list of records set by the Marauders during the 2022 season:
•             In a 23-17 win at UC Colorado Springs on Feb. 28, 2022, the Marauders tied the school record for runs in a game, set a record for hits (23), record for RBIs (21), record for doubles (7), and tied NCAA-era record for runs scored by individuals (4 by Michael Polson, Kyle Jameson and Derek Shoen)
•             8-game win streak (NCAA-era record)
•             15 strike outs by Austin Wagner against Minnesota Duluth
•             3 home runs and 7 RBIs by Derek Shoen at Augustana (single game NCAA era record)
•             6 home runs in a single game (ties NCAA era record)
•             92 strikeouts by Austin Wagner (single season record)
•             18 doubles by Cal James (single season record)
•             15 home runs by Derek Shoen (single season record)
•             51 RBIs by Derek Shoen single season record)
•             23 wins was an NCAA single season team record
•             414 strikeouts and 403.2 innings pitched– single season team record
•             51 home runs is a single season team record
•             Single season team record for putouts (1,211) and total chances (1,752)
 
NEXT UP
The Marauders make a visit to Truman State University for a 4-game series March 3-5 in the team's final non-conference games of the season.
 
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