Marist baseball fell short in their season opener against Southern Mississippi, dropping the contest 4-1 Friday evening.
The Golden Eagles took the lead in the first inning and never looked back. Junior infielder Ozzie Pratt’s triple was all the help junior pitcher Niko Mazza needed as he registered eight strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings in the opening-day win. Early pitching woes, largely attributed to a lack of command, contributed to the loss for Marist as all four Southern Mississippi runs were scored by runners who reached on free bases.
Southern Miss reached the NCAA Super Regionals last year, finishing one win away from the College World Series. On the other side of the diamond, the Red Foxes were looking for a quick start to the season after finishing 16-36 in 2023, which included their first MAAC conference record below .500 since 2014.
Sophomore pitcher Tyler Hartley showed some nerves in his first collegiate inning, walking the first two batters on 11 pitches. Marist avoided an ugly start by retiring Southern Miss’ powerful senior outfielder Slade Wilks via an unassisted double play turned by sophomore shortstop Bayram Hot. Yet, the Golden Eagles capitalized on their early baserunners as Pratt launched a triple that glanced off Marist freshman outfielder Lewis Rodriguez’s glove, making it 2-0.
Junior infielder Marco Ali drilled Marist’s first hit of the season in the second with a two-out double to right-center field. Ali said in an interview before the season that more extra-base hits would be a focus for his personal game.
Hartley started the second inning similarly to the first, putting two runners on via a walk and hit by pitch. The defense held firm but allowed one run as junior outfielder Carson Paetow hit a sacrifice fly to center, extending the Golden Eagles’ lead to three.
The Golden Eagles’ ace looked comfortable throughout his time on the mound. Mazza, who is one of two Golden Eagle pitchers selected to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team, steadily used his fastball and slider to collect his eight strikeouts and keep the Red Foxes off the bases.
The Golden Eagles tacked on another run in the fourth thanks to a Paetow bloop RBI single to left, scoring sophomore infielder Matthew Russo from second.
Senior Brian Yetter entered the game for Marist to start the fifth inning. The former starter converted to a reliever after a rocky 2023, in which he posted a 9.37 ERA.
Marist graduate student outfielder Colin Mackle picked up his second base hit of the day leading off the sixth. He finished the day 2-4 and was one of two Red Foxes to lead off an inning with a hit. Mazza was relieved later in the sixth inning by sophomore Colby Allen after throwing 85 pitches.
Allen’s first opponent was Hot, the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. With runners on first and second, Hot hit a ground ball to third but beat the double play at first. Allen then ended the inning on the next batter, getting sophomore infielder Ethan Conrad to ground out. Hot finished the day 0-4 with two strikeouts.
Marist loaded the bases in the seventh with Mackle stepping up to the plate. Mackle hit a ground ball to Pratt at shortstop, who got the out at second. The throw to first was too late, allowing graduate student infielder Justin Kapuscinski to score the Red Foxes’ first run of the year. Allen got out of the inning with a strikeout of Rodriguez, keeping the score 4-1.
Yetter looked calm and confident on the mound for Marist, working two straight one-two-three innings. After hitting the leadoff batter in the bottom of the eighth, Yetter kept the game close, retiring the next three. Yetter threw 58 pitches over four innings of work while striking out three and walking one.
Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander kept Allen in for the last frame looking to keep his bullpen fresh for the rest of the weekend. Junior infielder Nathan Lincoln kept the game alive with a two-out base hit up the middle in the ninth. As Mackle looked to continue the Marist rally, Allen induced a ground ball to first base to end the game.
Allen earned his first save of the year, striking out five over 3 2/3 innings of work. Hartley took the loss in his first collegiate appearance, giving up four earned runs over four innings. Hartley was put at the top of the rotation after Marist’s expected Friday starter, graduate student Nate Chudy, was ruled out for injury.
Game two of the series will start at 7 p.m. tomorrow, followed by the finale at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Edited by Max Rosen
Photo Credit: Marist Athletics via Danny Sikkenga
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