Marist baseball lost their third consecutive series to start the season, getting swept by Columbia University in three games over the past weekend. The Red Foxes (2-9) returned to New York City on Wednesday and rebounded, defeating Fordham University 4-1 for their second win on the year.
The Red Foxes were outdone by a well-oiled machine in Columbia’s offense, which scored in 16 of 24 innings and featured the NCAA National Player of the Week, senior infielder Jack Cooper. Marist bounced back in a midweek win against the Rams, where they allowed less than four runs for the first time this season.
Marist entered the series reeling after ceding 49 runs the previous weekend. Needed to stabilize its pitching staff, which had a 10.08 ERA coming into the weekend, Marist also sought to ignite its offense, which had only plated six runs in the previous four games.
The Lions (3-3) were fresh off their opening series, in which they dropped all three contests to No. 4 Florida. Columbia gave up 10 runs in its first defensive inning of the year, but the offense partially found its footing, scoring 17 runs of its own over the weekend.
The series began with a Friday afternoon matchup in Manhattan. Marist got on the board first thanks to an RBI base hit by sophomore outfielder/first baseman Ethan Conrad but quickly squandered their early advantage.
Two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for Cooper, who started his monster weekend with a grand slam that gave Columbia a 4-1 lead. Marist’s starter, sophomore pitcher Tyler Hartley, lasted until the third inning, but a lack of command ended his afternoon with four walks and 10 earned runs given up. Columbia used two singles and two doubles to make it 10-3 a third of the way through the contest.
The Lions scored in each inning through the seventh, and the barrage was highlighted by a career day from Cooper. The first baseman drove in eight runs while going 4-4 with two home runs, setting a new program record for RBIs in a game and making him the fourth player in Ivy League history to hit that mark.
Columbia’s pitching staff silenced the Marist bats; senior pitcher Derek Yoo got the start and the win, allowing one hit and striking out four over three innings of work. Freshman outfielder Lewis Rodriguez, a former MAAC Rookie of the Week, was the most productive Red Fox, going 3-5 with a double and a stolen base. The Lions took game one 15-3.
The weekend was initially slated to feature a Saturday doubleheader, but the schedule was altered due to inclement weather. The revised schedule set up two games on Sunday to close the series.
The Sunday morning contest was the closest game of the weekend. Columbia struck first, scoring two runs from a bases-loaded situation in the second inning. Marist tied it up in the next frame, scoring two after a throwing error. The Red Foxes then grabbed a one-run lead in the fourth, thanks to an RBI single from graduate student infielder Justin Kapuscinski.
The Lions responded quickly in the bottom half; junior outfielder Anton Lazits led off with a solo home run to tie it. A strikeout turned wild pitch allowed two runs to score before junior infielder Griffin Palfrey launched an RBI double, making it 6-3 and chasing Marist junior starting pitcher Riley Orr from the game.
Entering the eighth inning, the Red Foxes were down 9-3 but got their bats going in an effort to claw back. Redshirt junior Marco Ali started the proceedings with an RBI double, followed by two RBI base hits during the inning to make it a two-run game going into the ninth.
Freshman pitcher Payton Soske came in to close the game out and did just that, retiring the final Red Fox batters one-two-three, earning his first collegiate save and clinching the series for the Lions.
The two sides quickly got ready for the third and final contest, which saw both teams reach a season-high in runs scored. With the score knotted at 1-1 entering the bottom of the second inning, Columbia then jumped out to a five-run lead. Two straight hit-by-pitches and a bunt allowed freshman infielder Hunter Snyder’s base hit to center to bring in two. Cooper tacked on two more RBIs to his historic weekend, making it 6-1.
In the third and fifth innings, both teams put up multiple runs, including a three-run blast from Cooper that staked the Lions out to a six-run lead. Marist cut the lead to two in the seventh, in part due to two sacrifice flies, which brought them past the 10-run mark for the first time this season. But Columbia’s lead became insurmountable for the Red Foxes, and they were swept for the second straight weekend after falling 15-11 in the final matchup.
Cooper was the indisputable highlight of the weekend for the Lions, going 9-12 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. The stellar performance made Cooper the NCAA National Player of the Week and Ivy League Player of the Week; he led the country in RBIs and ranked second in batting average and slugging percentage.
Ali received recognition for his strong weekend. Batting .615 (8-13) with four doubles, three RBIs, one walk and one strikeout, Ali was named the MAAC Player of the Week.
The Red Foxes found more luck in the Bronx on Wednesday afternoon after their winless trip to Manhattan. Both Marist and Fordham each team plated one run in the first inning; Marist graduate student outfielder Johnny Decker scored on a groundout to shortstop, while Fordham graduate student outfielder Andrew Kanellis tied it with an RBI base hit.
Marist leaned into their bullpen, calling on six pitchers, none of whom worked more than two innings. After the first inning, Marist shut out the Rams for the remainder of the game, holding them to just four hits on the day.
Decker plated the winning run in the sixth inning on an RBI base hit from Conrad. Ali kept on coming through, launching a two-RBI double in the eighth inning that gave Marist a three-run lead.
Junior pitcher Chris Ubner entered in the ninth and despite surrendering two walks, he managed to close the door for his first save of the season.
Ali, Conrad, Decker and Rodriguez continue to lead the way offensively for Marist, with each player batting well over .300. The pitching staff is still looking for consistency and control that has eluded them since 2022; the Red Fox staff currently sports a 10.30 ERA and 2.01 WHIP while allowing 66 walks and 95 earned runs in 83 innings. As a result, they have allowed double-digit runs in seven of 11 games so far this season.
Next up for Marist is a spring break trip to Virginia, where they will play the University of Richmond, Virginia Tech and Radford University across seven games. The Red Foxes are just over two weeks away from the start of MAAC conference play, which commences on March 22 against Saint Peter’s.
Edited by Max Rosen and Luke Sassa
Photo from Marist Athletics via Stockton Photo
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