May 4, 2008

Bismarck, ND – The University of Mary exploded for 14 runs in the Marauders final two at bats in the doubleheader opener to take a 15-6 win over Upper Iowa University, a victory that briefly kept U-Mary’s playoff hopes alive. The Peacocks would crush the Marauders dreams of advancing to the Northern Sun baseball tournament with a 13-5 win over U-Mary in the nightcap.

The loss in game two ended the Marauders season as U-Mary fell just shy of advancing to the Northern Sun baseball tournament. The Marauders finished seventh in the NSIC at 14-16 with an overall record of 17-31. Upper Iowa placed second at 24-8 and is 29-24 overall.

The Marauders trailed throughout the first game before exploding in the fifth inning. The Peacocks scored four runs in the top of the first inning on just one hit. Only one of the runs were earned. U-Mary would respond with one run in the bottom of the first as Mike Feldman and Tyler Liffrig hit back-to-back two-out doubles.

U-Mary’s Feldman and Upper Iowa’s Greg Sieck then shut down both offenses until the bottom of the fifth.

The Marauders received the spark the team needed when Tyler Liffrig hit a two-out bases-loaded double to score all three runners and tie the game at 4-4. A wild pitch moved Liffrig to third, where he scored on a single by Brennan Quintus to break the tie. Casey Gray then followed with a two-run home run to cap the fifth inning’s six-run outburst for a 7-4 lead.

U-Mary wasn’t quite finished. Feldman stroked a two-run single to start the scoring in the sixth. Liffrig singled home the third run and Feldman would soon score after stealing third and seeing the catcher’s throw sail into left field. Nate Watson. Jeremy Campbell, Ryan Lee and Andy Leer all followed with run-scoring two-out singles to place the game out of reach.

Feldman pitched his fifth complete game of the year and improved to 4-6 in his final game as a collegiate pitcher. He allowed five hits and three earned runs while striking out four. At the plate, Feldman was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI.

Liffrig and Lee both paced the U-Mary offense as each went 3-for-4 at the plate. Liffrig drove in five runs and scored two while Lee scored once and had an RBI. Campbell and Leer had two hits each, both scored twice and drove in one. Gray also scored twice and drove in two.

The second game started very similar to the first. Upper Iowa jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first on a three-run homer by Nick Fjelland. The Marauders would put up three of their own in the bottom of the inning. Feldman tripled in one run and scored on a single by Liffrig. A Gray fielder’s choice would score Liffrig and the game was knotted 3-3.

What looked like a potential slugfest soon turned into a one-sided rout. UIU scored three more times in the second and four in the third. A single run in the fourth and two in the sixth pushed the Peacock lead to 13-3. The Marauders would finally get back on the board in the seventh as Leer hit a run-scoring double and would score on a hit by Quintus, but it would be all U-Mary would get as the Marauders fell short 13-5.

Liffrig and Quintus both had two hits for the Marauders.