THIS WEEK
Northern Sun play begins this week for the University of Mary baseball team when the Marauders face the University of Sioux Fall in a pair of neutral site doubleheaders on Monday and Tuesday, February 23-24. The two twin bills begin each day at 12 noon and will be played at the Rock Creek Senior High School ballpark in St. George, KS.
 
The first three out of four games will be NSIC contests with the fourth considered a non-conference game. On Monday, game one is scheduled for seven innings with a nine-inning game to follow. The opening game on Tuesday is a nine-inning meeting with the non-conference night cap set for seven innings.
 
The UMary-USF series was originally scheduled for February 21-22 but was moved back two days due to weather issues.
 
The Marauders are then slated to play Minnesota State University in a 4-game series February 27-March 1 in Elkhorn, NE.
 
FOLLOW LIVE
Visit www.GoUMary.com/coverage for available links to live video and stats… Home games played in Bismarck, ND, and NSIC games played on home fields are streamed live… As the UMary-USF and UMary-Minnesota State games are being playing at a neutral site, live video is not available. Live stats will hopefully be made available on a slightly delayed basis.
 
THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 1-3 overall this season… The Cougars are 1-3 overall in 2026.
 
HISTORY
The Marauders are 16-16 against Sioux Falls since the Cougars joined the Northern Sun for the 2013 season… UMary has won 14 of the last 17 meetings… During that 17 game stretch only five games were played in Sioux Falls with UMary sweeping a 2022 doubleheader and USF winning 2-of-3 last year… In the last 17 games, six took place in Bismarck, ND, three in Quincy, IL, two in Omaha, NE, five in Sioux Falls and one in Florida.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UMary opened the season taking one of four games at Rogers State College… Lucas Bergum struck out eight in five innings in a 6-5 loss in the opener. Isaac Pegors hit a 3-run home run but the Hillcats scored the last six runs of the game for a walkoff win… UMary and Rogers State split a doubleheader on day two. The Hillcats took the opener 8-0 before the Marauders rebounded for a 5-1 win in 15 innings. RSU scored in the first inning before the Marauder pitchers threw 14 straight shutout innings. Justin Hanson allowed one run in five innings in his first UMary start. Ryan Chamberlain followed with six shutout innings before Cole Smith threw three hitless and scoreless innings to get the win. Sam Hayen pitched a scoreless 15^th inning to get the save. Bryce Leafgren singled home the winning run, Cullen Wilson followed with a 2-run single and Cru Walker hit a sacrifice fly… Bryce Leafgren then hit two home runs in game four and Marcus Butts hit one round tripper. Cullen Wilson allowed one run in three innings to start the game and Chris Compton followed with two shutout innings. The Hillcats overcame a 3-1 deficit with two runs in the sixth inning and three in the seventh to win the game 6-4.
 
CHAMBERLAIN NAMED NSIC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
A lockdown performance by Ryan Chamberlain on opening weekend earned the Marauders senior righthander Northern Sun Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time in his career. Chamberlain pitched six shutout innings of relief in the Marauders 15-inning 5-1 win at Rogers State University. Entering the game in the sixth inning with the game tied 1-1, the Laramie, WY, native limited the Hillcats to two hits and a walk as he retired 18 of the 21 batters he faced. Chamberlain stuck out five as he allowed only two baserunners to reach as far a second base… This is the second time Chamberlain has earned NSIC Pitcher of the Week honors. He was previously honored March 17, 2025, after throwing a 9-inning complete game shutout in an 8-0 win at Concordia-St. Paul. He also won regional and national honors for his effort against the Golden Bears.
 
STELLAR STARTS
The Marauders starting pitchers had an impressive opening weekend against the Hillcats. In 16.1 innings, the UMary stating staff allowed seven runs on 11 hits and six walks while striking out 14… Lucas Burgum stuck out eight in five scoreless innings in the opener, allowing three hits and one walk. In his first game with the Marauders Justin Hanson limited the Hillcats to one run on one hit and one walk while striking out four in five innings… Cullen Wilson held RSU to one run on one hit and three walks in three innings.
 
SHUT IT DOWN
UMary pitchers had an impressive opening weekend as thehe Marauders held the Hillcats offense below the Mendoza Line (named for Pittsburgh Pirates/Seattle Mariners/Texas Rangers shortstop Mario Mendoza and refers to batting averages below .200). In four games Rogers State hit .198 with a .329 on base percentage and a .366 slugging percentage for a. OPS of .638. The Maraders struck out 29 batters and walked 18.
 
LONG BALL
The Marauders posted five doubles and four home runs in the opening series while the Hillscats registered three of each. All-NSIC player Bryce Leafgren led the way with two home runs. Marcus Butts also had multiple extra base hits with a double and a home run.
 
PICK IT
Playing outside for the first time, the Marauders defense was credited with just three errors in the first four games. Two of the UMary errors came from the pitching staff. The Marauders turned four double plays and threw out three of six runners attempting to steal.
 
WELCOME BACK

• The Marauders return 24 players who saw action for UMary last season, including 13 pitchers and 12 position players (So. RHP Cullen Wilson appears in both counts as he also played in the field)
• Eight every day regulars are back for the Marauders, including 11 of the team's top 13 in total at bats from 2025
• Nine returners started at least 19 games in the field last year and six made 37 or more starts
• On the mound 13 of the Marauders 20 pitchers who saw action last season remain on the squad, including pitchers who made 33 of UMary's 51 starts
• The Marauders return three All-NSIC Players: OF Isaac Pegors (1^st team 2025), OF/1B Bryce Leafgren (2^nd team 2025) and MI Kalem Haney (1^st team 2025)
• Haney is a 4-year starter in the middle infield for UMary with a lifetime slash line of .316/.42/.482
• Senior Bryce Leafgren slashed .344/.468/.620 with 11 home runs in his first season as a starter in 2025
• Senior Kieran Gaffney returns after starting all 51 games last season at 3B in his first season at UMary
• Senior Hank Griffin started 48 games last season and is back to play shortstop
• Senior Luke Rhee is back for a second season at UMary after starting 37 games for the Marauders
• Senior Cru Walker (27 starts) and sophomore Marcus Butts (25 starts) will tag-team catcher again for UMary
• Aiden Johnson (2) and Ryan Chamberlain (1) combined to throw all three of the Marauders complete games and shutouts last year. They threw a combined 122 innings and both made 12 starts to lead the UMary pitching staff.
• Sam Hayen returns after posting seven saves and two wins

 
PEGORS NAMED NSIC PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR, D2BASEBALL AND NCBWA PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Isaac Pegors, the reigning conference player of the year, is the 2026 Northern Sun Baseball Preseason Player of the Year. The Marauders All-American becomes the first UMary baseball scholar-athlete to earn NSIC preseason player of the year accolades. Pegors also earned 2026 Preseason All-American honors from D2Baseball and NCBWA.
 
Pegors broke school records with 18 home runs and 65 runs batted in during the 2025 season. In 47 games the Bismarck, ND, native led the NSIC in slugging percentage (.795) and OPS (1.287). He hit .398 with 10 doubles and scored 42 runs.
 
The first UMary player to earn NSIC Player of the Year honors, Pegors was selected as a 3rd team All-American by both D2CCA and NCBWA to become the Marauders first NCAA All-American and the second All-American overall in program history. The Legacy High School product also received All-Region honors from CCA, ABCA/Rawlings and NCBWA and was selected to the All-NSIC first team.
 
Additionally Pegors is the first UMary baseball player named to the Academic All-America first team as selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC).
 
JOHNSON SELECTED UMARY PITCHER TO WATCH FOR NSIC
After an impressive first year at UMary in 2025, Aiden Johnson is back for his senior season to again headline the Marauders rotation. The 6-foot-6 right hander from Westminster, CO, pitched two complete game shutouts last season, including a 2-0 shutout of defending champion Augustana to win NSIC Pitcher of the Week honors. Johnson finished the season 5-4 with a 4.62 ERA in 12 starts covering 62.1 innings. He struck out 44 and walked just 17 to post a 1.36 WHIP.
 
UMARY PICKED TO FINISH 7^th IN NSIC PRESEASON POLL
The Marauders are projected to finish in seventh place in the 2026 NSIC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll, which would once again qualify the team for postseason play. UMary has earned a berth in the Northern Sun tournament the last two seasons and four of the last five.
 
BY THE NUMBERS | 2025 SEASON REWIND
24 - UMary tied the NCAA program record for wins in a season with 24, matching the Marauders previous best mark from 2022
 
20 - The Marauders set a program record for single season Northern Sun win with 20, surpassing the previous high of 19 set last season (2024).
 
20-20-20-20-20 – UMary has won at least 20 games in each of the last five seasons, all under the direction of head coach Tanner Spencer. The Marauders never had a 20-win season in NCAA play until 2021.
 
18 + 65 - Isaac Pegors set Marauders programs records with 18 home runs and 65 RBIs in 2025. ns and runs batted in. He broke the old record of Derek Shoen (14 home runs in 2022) and Josh Walker (54 RBIs in 2023).
 
206 + 153 – 2x All-NSIC performer Noah Hull broke the school records for career hits (206) and career RBIs (153). The previous records were 198 hits by Cal James and 141 RBIs by Jeff Wedul and Tyler Liffrig.
 
118 – Tanner Spencer became the second UMary baseball coach to hit the century mark for wins last season when he won his 100^th game in a doubleheader sweep over Concordia-St. Paul on March 13, 2025. He only trails Steve LeGrand (121 wins from 1997-2001) for head coaching baseball wins at UMary. 
 
$2.2 million – Artificial turf made its debut at Municipal Ballpark last season, part of a $2.2 million renovation to UMary's home field.
 
26 + 26 + 8 + 7 + 5 – UMary set a school record for most RBIs (26) and hits (26) in a 26-22 win at Missouri Western while tying the record for runs scored… Rhett Chisholm drove in a school record eight runs… Carter Shin set the team NCAA single game record by reaching base safely seven times (3 hits, 3 walks, 1 hit by pitch)… Bryce Leafgren tied team NCAA single game record with five hits (7th time in team history, last done by Josh Walker vs. Sioux Falls in 2024).
 
5 - Krece Papierski (at SMSU) and Bryce Leafgren (at Missouri Western) both tied the school NCAA record with five hits in a game.
 
2025 WEEKLY HONORS

• Ryan Chamberlain was the NSIC and the NCBWA Central Region and National Pitcher of the week after striking out ten in a 9-inning shutout of CSP. He allowed three hits and no walks in an 8-0 win.
• Aiden Johnson was the NSIC Pitcher of the Week in 2-0 complete game win over Augie.
•  OF Isaac Pegors bashed his way to Northern Sun Baseball Player of the Week honors while breaking a pair of Marauders season records in the process. In the span of four games last week, Pegors blasted four home runs, drove in ten runs and scored nine times as the Marauders won four out of five games and moved into sixth place in the NSIC standings. The sophomore from Bismarck, ND, went 9-for-15 with a slash line of .467/.600/1.267 and an OPS of 1.867.

 
ISAAC PEGORS HONOR ROLL 2025

• 2025 Academic All-America® NCAA Division II baseball first team as selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC).
• 2025 Northern Sun Player of the Year
• 2025 D2CCA All-American 3rd team outfielder
• 2025 NCBWA All-American 3rd team outfielder
• 2025 ABCA/Rawlings All-Central Region 1st team outfielder
• 2025 NCBWA All-Central Region 1st team outfielder
• 2025 D2CCA All-Central Region 1st team outfielder
• 2025 All-NSIC 1st team outfielder
• NCBWA Central Region Player of the Week
• NSIC Player of the Week (1)
• UMary single season home run record (18)
• UMary single season runs batted in record (65)

 
LEAFGREN ALL-NSIC 2^nd TEAM
Bryce Leafgren earned All-Northern Sun 2^nd team honors in 2025 after a breakout campaign during his junior season. He hit .342 while smashing 10 home runs. The Eaton, CO, native posted a .624 slugging percentage and a .482 on-base percentage to give him an OPS of 1.106. Leafgren ranked 6^th in the NSIC in OPS, 7^th in on-base percentage, 9^th in slugging percentage and 10^th in home runs.
 
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