BISMARCK, ND – A record day by
Josh Walker led the University of Mary baseball team to a weekend sweep of the University of Sioux Falls. Walker delivered four doubles and had five hits total as the Marauders outgunned the Cougars 13-3.
The Marauders outscored the Cougars by double digits in each game and scored 40 runs total in the three-game sweep while allowing just nine runs to score.
The sweep allowed UMary (18-20 overall, 14-14 Northern Sun) to pass USF in the Northern Sun standings and move into seventh place in the league with ten games remaining. Sioux Falls (21-19, 14-16) dropped into eighth place. The top eight teams in the final standings make the NSIC tournament, which is hosted by UMary May 8-11.
Walker tied the Marauders NCAA-era record for doubles and hits. Alec Batest hit four doubles against Southern Nazarene University on February 1, 2020. Batest was also the last UMary player with five hits in a game as now six Marauders have accomplished the feat.
The top three hitters punished USF pitching, combining for 11 hits. Walker led the charge as he was perfect on the day with five hits in five at bats. He scored twice and drove in three runs.
Kalem Haney and
Krece Papierski both finished 3-for-5. Papierski homered, scored three times and drove in two runs. Haney had a double and scored twice.
Carter Beck also had two hits for UMary, scored twice and drove in a run.
Dylan Edmands, the only Marauder starter without a hit in the game, scored twice and walked twice.
Ryan Chamberlain was outstanding on the hill for UMary. The sophomore righthander threw all seven innings for his first complete game of the season. He struck out six, walked one and gave up eight hits on the day.
Papierski opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning. UMary tacked on two runs on a 2-run double by
Ben Prediger. UMary then scored two more runs in the second and one more in the third.
After USF cut the UMary advantage to 6-3, the Marauders pulled away with four runs in the sixth and three in the seventh to end a second straight game early by the 10-run rule.
UMary's 8-game home stand continues when the Marauders host Bemidji State University on Wednesday, April 24, in an NSIC doubleheader starting at 1:30 pm.
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