THIS WEEK
The University of Mary baseball team closes out the 2023 regular season with five straight home games. UMary first hosts Bemidji State University on Tuesday, May 2. The Northern Sun doubleheader begins at 1:30 pm. UMary then takes on visiting University of Minnesota Duluth on Friday and Saturday, May 5-6. The Senior Day doubleheader on Friday starts at 1:30 pm. Saturday's single game between the Marauders and the Bulldogs commences at 12 noon. All five games will be played at Municipal  Ballpark in Bismarck ND.
 
THE RECORDS
The Marauders enter the week 19-26 and 12-18 in the Northern Sun (11th place)… Bemidji State University is 2-41 and 1-27 (15th)… Minnesota Duluth is 17-25 and 10-19 (13th) before a midweek series hosting Minnesota Crookston.
 
HOME
After playing their first 32 games on the road, the Marauders are in the midst of hosting 12 of 18 games at home, including seven of their final 10. UMary is 3-4 in home games in the Bismarck-Mandan area.   
 
NIMBLENESS
Out of the first 11 NSIC series of the season for the Marauders, only two have not undergone a date or location change.
 
PLAY 'EM ALL
Despite contending with unusual weather all season the Marauders have played all of their scheduled games.
 
POSTSEASON HOPES
The Marauders are still in the running for the final two spots in the NSIC tournament but basically need to win out and get some help. Winona State clinches a slot with one more win in their last five. Wayne State can clinch an NSIC tournament berth with two wins in five games.
 
UNIVERSITY OF MARY TO HOST NSIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The University of Mary will host the 2023 Northern Sun baseball championships on May 10-13 (and May 14 if necessary). Games will be held at Veterans Memorial Ballpark at BNC Field in Mandan, ND, all four days with Municipal Ballpark at Dakota Community Bank & Trust Field in Bismarck, ND, hosting games the first two days.
 
HOME RUN RECORD
The Marauders shattered the school home run record with 69 this season. The old record was 51, set last year. Noah Hull broke the record when he hit UMary's 52nd round tripper of 2023 in the 3rd inning of UMary's 8-0 win over Minnesota Crookston on April 19.
 
POWER TRIO
For the first time in program history, the Marauders have three players reach double figures in home runs in the same season. Noah Hull leads all players with 12. Derek Shoen and Cal James own 11 each. Close behind is Josh Walker with nine.
 
DRAHEIM BREAKS WIN RECORD
Jonathan Draheim broke the UMary career record for wins when he earned his 16^th in the Marauders 16-3 win over Northern State on Wednesday, April 26. The old record was held by Ryan Astle. The senior righthander is also the school recordholder for starts (39) and is tied for the career record for shutouts (3 with Ryan Astle and Dale Dingmann) and wins (15 with Ryan Astle). Here is where Draheim ranks on the school record board:

• 1st in career starts (38)
• 1st in career wins (16)
• Tied for 1st in career shutouts with Ryan Astle and Dale Dingmann (3)
• 2nd in career strikeouts at 173 (Jake Johnson 1st with 177)
• 2nd in innings pitched with 222.2 (Nicholas Stobbe first with 225.2)
• 3rd in complete games with 10 (Ryan Astle with 11 and Matt Medeiros leads with 13)

 
CAL JAMES BREAKS CAREER RECORDS FOR HITS, RUNS AND DOUBLES
In the span of three games last week, Cal James became the Marauders career record holder in three major categories. The junior third baseman is now the UMary all-time leader in runs (141), hits (190) and doubles (45). The runs and hits record was formerly held by Andy Leer, a 2010 Minnesota Twins draft choice. The doubles mark had been held by Tyler Liffrig. Here's where James stands in several categories:

• 1^st in career doubles (45)
• 1^st in career hits (190)
• 1^st in career runs (141)
• 3^rd in career RBIs (128) behind Tyler Liffrig (141) and Jeff Wedul (141)
• 3rd in career home runs (29), trailing Tyler Liffrig (39) and Derek Shoen (36)

 
SHOEN NEARS TOP OF CAREER RECORDS
Senior 1st baseman Derek Shoen is in the top five in several career categories at UMary:

• 2^nd in career home runs (36). Tyler Liffrig is the Marauders career record-holder with 39 (2007-10)
• 4^th all-time in RBIs (126). Liffrig and Jeff Wedul (141) are tied for 1^st, Cal James is 3^rd (128)
• 5^th in doubles (34) with Andy Leer
• 5^th in runs scored (125), trailing Cal James (141), Andy Leer (132), Jeff Wedul (130) and Tyler Liffrig (126)

 
MARAUDERS SINGLE SEASON RECORDS WITHIN REACH
The Marauders also have some single season marks within reach:

• Hits – 68 by Derek Ihde (2002) and Michael Feldman (2008) | Derek Shoen (64), Cal James (60)
• Doubles – 18 by Cal James (2022) | Cal James (14), Derek Shoen and Kalem Haney (12)
• Home runs – Derek Shoen 14 (2023) | Noah Hull (12), Derek Shoen and Cal James (11)
• RBIs – Derek Shoen 51 (2022) | Cal James (44), Derek Shoen (43),
• Runs scored – Steve Laasko 56 (1998) | Cal James (52)

 
NCAA RANKINGS
The Marauders offense has had a strong season. UMary has posted double digit runs in 13 games and has scored five or more in 35 of 45 games… Among NCAA Division II teams the Marauders offense ranks:

• 14th in home runs/game (1.53)
• 24^th in slugging percentage (.517)
• 43^rd in doubles/game (2.08)
• 60^th in scoring (7.7 runs/game)
• 66^th in complete games (4)

 
NCAA Individual Top 60 Rankings
Krece Papierski

• 23^rd in hit by pitch per game (.42)

 
 
Cal James

• 15^th in hit by pitch per game (.47)
• 72^nd in on base percentage (.495)

 
Jonathan Draheim

• 4^th in walks/nine innings (1.19)
• 22^nd in strikeout-to-walks ratio (5.43)
• 46^th in complete games (3)
• 78^th in WHIP (1.17)

 
Noah Hull

• 58^th in home runs/game (.30)

 
KA-BOOM
13 different Marauders have hit home runs this season. Noah Hull leads the way with 12. Derek Shoen and Cal James have 11 each. Newcomer Josh Walker owns nine. Krece Papierski has six. Overall the Marauders have cracked a school record of 69 home runs in 45 games. The previous record was 51 in 2022.
 
4 DIGIT OPS
Three Marauders own an OPS (On-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of four digits. Cal James leads the way at 1.168 followed by Derek Shoen (1.079) and Noah Hull (1.048). Close behind is Krece Papierski (.903).
 
IMPACT DEBUTS
Outfielders Josh Walker and Dan Walker have made an immediate impact for UMary. A transfer from Sacramento State, Walker is hitting .285/.397/.556 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs… Martin, a New Mexico transfer, is slashing .289/.368/.458 with five home runs, 27 RBIs and 33 runs scored.
 
DOUBLING DOWN ON TWO
Marauders second sacker Kalem Haney is tied for the Marauders team lead in doubles with 12 in his first collegiate season. The redshirt freshman is hitting .280/.371/.434 with 38 runs scored and 18 RBIs. Haney hit the game-winning home run against Northern State, a 2-out 2-run blast in the top of the first inning in a 5-4 UMary win.
 
NOTHING IS FREE
Austin Wagner allowed his first two walks of the season in a start at SCSU. The dominant lefthander is 5-1 in six starts and eight games and has struck out 24 while allowing 38 hits and three walks in 33 innings.   
 
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.
 
RANKED
The Marauders have played three teams who have been nationally-ranked this season… Unranked when UMary played Central Oklahoma to open the season, the Bronchos reached a high of #5 in the poll before falling out of the rankings… MSU Denver was #23 at the time the Roadrunners played the Marauders and reached #13 before also exiting the poll… Minnesota State was ranked #22 when the Mavericks played the Marauders.
 
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.
 
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)
 
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