Marauders celebrate Bryce Leafgren home run
Brian Larson
4
Minnesota Crookston UMC 21-25
5
Winner University of Mary MARY 23-22
Minnesota Crookston UMC
21-25
4
Final
5
University of Mary MARY
23-22
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Minnesota Crookston UMC 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 4 5 0
University of Mary MARY 0 0 0 1 0 4 X 5 9 0

W: Burgess, Jacob (2-2) L: Dykhoff, Josh (5-5) S: Hayen, Sam (7)

8
Winner Minnesota Crookston UMC 22-25
6
University of Mary MARY 23-23
Winner
Minnesota Crookston UMC
22-25
8
Final
6
University of Mary MARY
23-23
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota Crookston UMC 0 0 1 4 1 2 0 0 0 8 10 1
University of Mary MARY 1 0 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 6 11 2

W: Wensloff, Isaac (4-2) L: Thompson, Jack (0-1) S: Grafsgaard, Nate (8)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Brian Larson, Asst. Director of Athletics - Communications

Back-to-Back-to-Back home runs by Griffin, Pegors and Leafgren lifts Marauders to split with Golden Eagles

BISMARCK ND – Back to back to back home runs by Hank Griffin, Isaac Pegors and Bryce Leafgren in the University of Mary's final at bat rallied the Marauders to a 5-4 win over visiting University of Minnesota Crookston in the opening game of a Northern Sun doubleheader between a pair of teams fighting for a postseason opportunity. UMC then fought off another rally attempt by UMary to capture an 8-6 win in the nightcap.
 
The Marauders (23-23 overall, 19-18 NSIC) and the Golden Eagles (22-25, 19-18) entered the day in a three-way tie with Southwest Minnesota State University for sixth place in the Northern Sun. By the end of the day UMary and UMC remain tied for sixth place but SMSU slipped one game back into a tie for eighth place. The top eight teams in the final standings earn a berth in the 2025 NSIC tournament, set for May 7-10 in Sioux Falls, SD.
 
UMary closes out the regular season with a trio of games against the University of Minnesota Duluth on Friday and Saturday, May 2-3. Friday's doubleheader begins at 1:30 pm. Saturday is Senior Day with the first pitch set for 12 noon. Entering a doubleheader Wednesday at Concordia-St. Paul, the Bulldogs are 17-18 in NSIC play and are tied for 8th place. A sweep by UMD over CSP would move the Bulldogs into a tie for sixth place with UMary.
 
GAME 1: University of Mary 5 University of Minnesota Crookston 4
Trailing 3-1 entering the bottom of the sixth inning in a seven inning contest, the University of Mary walloped three straight home runs and missed a fourth straight by two feet in a 5-4 opening game win over visiting University of Minnesota Duluth.
 
UMary starter Konnor Kirchoffner and Josh Dykhoff of UMC, one of the top hurlers in the NSIC, kept the game scoreless into the fourth inning when UMary finally plated a run in the home half of the inning.
 
UMC finally scored in the fifth, plating three runs to take a lead and set up a memorable rally for UMary.
 
PIVOT POINT
Down 3-1 with one out in the sixth inning, Hank Griffin launched a solo home run to left center field. Isaac Pegors then lifted a home run to the opposite field with a blast over the right field wall. Bryce Leafgren then regained the lead for the Marauders by driving a shot over the left field fence.
 
Following a pitching change, Noah Hull nearly extended the Marauders home run spree to four, driving a shot to left center that hit the wall two feet below the top of the fence. Hull scored a valuable insurance run after taking third base on a wild pitch and scoring a run on an RBI single to left by Cru Walker for a 5-3 lead.                                                                                   
 
UMC loaded the bases in the seventh inning and pulled within 5-4 before Sam Hayen struck out a pinch hitter to strand two runners on base and close out the UMary win while earning his seventh save this season.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE  
STAT OF THE GAME
Isaac Pegors has homered in three straight games.
 
GAME 2: Golden Eagles 8 Marauders 6
UMary held Minnesota Crookston scoreless in the first couple innings and the last three but the Golden Eagles won the middle innings to claim an 8-6 victory and earn a doubleheader split with the Marauders.
 
PIVOT POINT
The Marauders jumped out to a 3-1 lead after scoring on a Noah Hull sacrifice fly in the first inning and a Kalem Haney home run and a Marcus Butts run-scoring single in the third. The Golden Eagles then scored five straight runs, jump-started by a solo home run by Scularti in the fourth. Three more runs more soon followed for a 5-4 UMC lead.
 
Down 8-4 in the fourth inning, the Marauders scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings on a Haney run-scoring single and a Pegors solo home to pull within two runs. UMary had two base runners reach in the eighth inning and one in the ninth but couldn't find two more runs to extend the game.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Kalem Haney 3-for-5, HR, 1 R, 2 RBIs
  • Hank Griffin 3-for-5, 3 R
  • Isaac Pegors 2-for-4, HR, 1 R, 2 RBIs
  • Ryan Faccini 3.0 IP, 3 H, 4 K, 1 R
  • Americo Sculati (SMSU) 3-for-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBIs
  • Aaron Wensloff (SMSU) 2-for-4, HR, 1 R, 2 RBIs
 
STAT OF THE GAME
The top three hitters in the UMary lineup – Kalem Haney (3 hits), Hank Griffin (3) and Isaac Pegors (2) combined for eight of the Marauders 11 hits… Peagors has a home run in four straight games.  
 
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