ST. GEORGE, Kan. – Sioux Falls earned a split in its Saturday doubleheader with the University of Mary, rolling to a 6-3 win in the opener before dropping the nightcap, 8-3, at Rock Creek HS.

The Cougars' best stretch of the day came early in Game 1, jumping out front with a three-run first inning and backing it with timely pressure on the bases and a steady bullpen finish. In Game 2, Sioux Falls matched Mary punch-for-punch through the middle innings, but a decisive sixth swung the game away as the Marauders pulled clear late.

Final Score(s):

• Sioux Falls 6, University of Mary 3 (Game 1)
• University of Mary 8, Sioux Falls 3 (Game 2)

Game One – How It Happened

Sioux Falls wasted no time taking control in the opener. Dominic Vogel worked a leadoff walk and William Edwards was hit by a pitch to put two aboard, setting the table for Mitch Iliff's three-run home run to right that staked the Cougars to a 3-0 lead before the Marauders recorded an out.

Mary answered in the bottom of the first with a run on a sacrifice fly to trim the margin to 3-1, but Sioux Falls responded again in the fourth. After Justin Johnson was hit by a pitch and Myles Rees reached on an error, the Cougars continued to force mistakes—eventually pushing two unearned runs across to build a 5-1 cushion.

The Marauders chipped away in the fourth on another sacrifice fly and pulled within 5-3 on a solo homer in the fifth, but Sioux Falls got that run back in the sixth. Vogel reached base again, moved into scoring position, and Edwards delivered an RBI single to restore a three-run advantage. From there, Owen Weadge slammed the door over the final three innings to secure the opener.

Game One – On the Mound

• Starting pitcher: Logan Anderson — 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
• Decision: Anderson (W, 1-1) | Hanson (L, 0-1) | Weadge (S, 1)
• Bullpen impact: Weadge — 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• Notable pitching moments: Anderson worked out of traffic with 0 walks over six innings; Weadge stranded multiple late runners while protecting the lead.

Game One – At the Plate

• Multi-hit games: Nolan Drossel (2-for-4)
• Extra-base hits: Mitch Iliff (HR)
• RBIs: Iliff 3, Edwards 1
• Clutch situations: Iliff's three-run homer provided the early separation; Edwards added insurance with an RBI single in the sixth.
• Team totals: 5 hits, 5 walks, 1 error

Game Two – How It Happened

The nightcap opened with Mary striking first on a two-run homer in the bottom of the first after a walk and a pair of errors extended the inning. Sioux Falls responded in the second when Jackson Yeager drew a walk and Cullen Verville singled home a run to make it 2-1.

The Cougars pulled even in the third as Edwards was hit by a pitch and Iliff ripped an RBI double to tie the game, 2-2. Mary regained the lead in the bottom half with an RBI double, then added another in the fourth and fifth on run-scoring fielder's choices to go up 5-2.

Sioux Falls cut it to 5-3 in the sixth on Colin Gibson's RBI double, but the momentum flipped immediately in the bottom half. Mary scored three times on four hits—highlighted by a two-run single—to create separation. A sacrifice fly pushed the margin to 8-3, and the Cougars were unable to mount a late push over the final frame.

Game Two – On the Mound

• Starting pitcher: C.J. Sanders — 2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
• Decision: Kemp (L, 0-1) | Fagerland (W, 1-0)
• Bullpen impact: Austin Kemp (2.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), Zach Peta (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER), Tyler Maeyaert (1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER)
• Notable pitching moments: Sioux Falls matched Mary through five innings, but the three-run sixth proved decisive.

Game Two – At the Plate

• Multi-hit games: Iliff (2-for-2)
• Extra-base hits: Iliff 2B, Gibson 2B
• RBIs: Verville 1, Iliff 1, Gibson 1
• Clutch situations: Iliff's RBI double tied the game in the third; Gibson's RBI double briefly pulled USF within one in the sixth.
• Team totals: 5 hits, 5 walks, 2 errors

Key Cougars (Day Standouts)

• Mitch Iliff: Delivered the biggest swing of the day with a three-run homer in Game 1 and added an RBI double in Game 2.
• Dominic Vogel: Reached base repeatedly (three walks in Game 1), scored twice in the opener, and continued to pressure the defense.
• Owen Weadge: Closed out Game 1 with three scoreless innings to lock down the save.
• William Edwards: Drove in a key insurance run in Game 1 and helped spark a response inning in Game 2.
• Nolan Drossel: Posted a multi-hit effort in the opener and stayed involved offensively across both games.

Coach's Corner

"Got another solid outing from Logan in the first game to help us win game 3 of the series. Was nice getting up early with Mitch's big 3-run homer in the top of the first. Owen threw the ball really well too to close it out. Good to see him back to his old form after having elbow surgery after last season. Would have been nice to get out of there with both games today but Mary pitched it well and we couldn't get much going offensively. But with the first 3 games counting towards our conference standings, our goal was to take 2 of the first 3 and win the series. Was glad we were able to get that done and get our conference season off to a good start. Looking forward to playing some more non-conference games next week in Florida and hopefully cleaning some things up so we're ready when we host Winona State in a few weeks."
– Head Coach Grant Hieb

Up Next

The Cougars work their way down to Florida next week for the RussMatt Invitational, opening against Rockhurst University on Tuesday, March 3 at 10:45 a.m. (CT), followed by Wilmington University (Del.) on Wednesday, March 4 at : a.m. (CT).

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