ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - The Marian University baseball team opened the 2010 season on Sunday afternoon with a doubleheader against Jamestown College (N.D.) at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex in Ormond Beach, Fla.

The Knights and Jimmies battled in game one as Jamestown was able to earn a hard-fought 9-7 victory, while game two was a pitching duel decided in the early innings with the Jimmies pulling out a 3-0 win to send the Knights to an 0-2 record to open the season.

MU got on the board first in game one as a walk to senior Tony Goodpaster (Avon, Ind./Wabash) turned into the game's first run after junior Todd Ungru (Madison, Ind./Shawe Memorial) was caught in a rundown and Goodpaster scored on the throw. The Knights were staked a 1-0 lead.

The Jimmies responded quickly with a grand slam in the bottom of the first to take a 4-1 lead, but the Knights answered with four of their own in the top of the second. An RBI-single from senior Patrick Midla (Brownsburg, Ind./Bethesda Christian) and a bases-loaded infield single by sophomore Evan Schludecker (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) brought the Knights within one at 4-3.

Ungru was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game, and junior Cory Emmons (Indianapolis, Ind./Lutheran) gave the Knights a 5-4 lead with an RBI-single to cap the scoring.

But, a four-run second for Jamestown gave the Jimmies a three-run cushion at 8-5. The Knights had two on and one out in the third, but they could not get a run across. Jamestown tacked on one more to take a 9-5 lead before the Knights tried to fight back.

An RBI-single by junior Jake Mullis (Coatesville, Ind./North Putnam) in the fourth, and an RBI-single by Ungru in the fifth cut the lead to two, 9-7, but that was as close as MU would get. Although freshman Matt Back (Batesville, Ind./Batesville) shutout the Jimmies the rest of the way, the offense could not get anything going as the Jimmies were able to pick up the 9-7 win.

Ungru went 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Mullis went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Midla notched two hits and an RBI, while Schludecker als had a hit and an RBI.

Game two was a much different story as the two pitchers dominated the game. A leadoff double and a sacrifice fly gave Jamestown a 1-0 lead in the first, and a two-run single in the top of the second staked the Jimmies a 3-0 lead.

Despite a complete game four-hitter that featured nine strikeouts by Midla, the offense was held to just four hits in the ballgame. The Knights had their chances as they left eight men on base, but could not get that big hit to knock home a run in the 3-0 defeat.

Midla allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits and struck out a game-high nine batters while walking just two.

The Knights continue their Florida swing when they head back to the Ormond Beach Sports Complex for a pair of seven-inning contests. They take on Aquinas College (Mich.) at 10 a.m. before battling Olivet Nazarene University at 2 p.m.