Marist baseball opened MAAC conference play by taking two out of three from Saint Peter’s over the weekend for their second series win of the season.
The Red Foxes (7-15, 2-1 MAAC) dominated game one of the series in part thanks to an NCAA record-setting performance by sophomore infielder Ethan Conrad. Marist dropped game two but rebounded to secure the series win on the back of sophomore pitcher Tyler Hartley.
Marist entered the series after a disastrous mid-week loss to FDU in which the bullpen collapsed in incredible fashion, walking in four runs in the eighth inning to lose the game. They looked for stability from the pitching staff and continued production from their offense, which averaged exactly six runs per game over their previous four contests.
The Peacocks (7-18, 1-2 MAAC) were coming off a 5-2 victory over Villanova in which they received a brilliant seven scoreless innings from sophomore pitcher Marcus Monroe, a welcome outing for a Saint Peter’s pitching staff that is dead last in the MAAC in ERA at 10.83.
The Peacocks’s pitching staff was unable to keep any momentum going, however, as the Red Foxes dominated game one, putting up 16 runs. Conrad drove in five runs and hit four triples, a new NCAA single-game record. The previous record was three, most recently accomplished in 2015 by Winthrop’s Brad Kaczka.
The game was close early, with both teams knotted at two through four innings. Marist then began to pull away in the fifth on RBI hits by graduate student outfielder Johnny Decker and redshirt junior infielder Marco Ali, as well as an RBI hit by pitch off graduate student infielder Justin Kapuscinski that gave the Red Foxes a 6-2 lead.
Marist put the game out of reach in the seventh, scoring five more runs. Conrad hit his second RBI triple while sophomore infielder Austin Bohlman, who was making his first start of the season, graduate student catcher Danny Moshier, and graduate student outfielder Colin Mackle also contributed RBIs in the inning. They scored five more times across the eighth and ninth innings thanks to Conrad’s final two triples and a groundout from Moshier that plated an unearned run, making the score 16-2.
The Red Foxes received a strong outing from sophomore pitcher Chris Mazza, who pitched all nine innings while allowing just one hit. He walked five and did not record a strikeout, but still managed to provide the kind of stable outing that Marist has been searching for from its pitchers all season.
Game two saw graduate student pitcher Riley Orr get the start for Marist. Orr looked for continued success, coming off two consecutive quality starts after a rough start to his season.
Unfortunately for Marist, Orr struggled mightily against Saint Peter’s, laboring through 4 1/3 innings while giving up nine hits and eight runs while walking four.
Marist got out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a 3-run homer from Conrad that upped his RBI total to eight for the series but quickly saw that lead fade when the Peacocks scored two second-inning runs on RBIs from junior infielder Joseph Lomangino and redshirt sophomore infielder Logan Baker.
A sac fly in the third from Kapuscinski got one run back for the Red Foxes, making the score 4-2, but only until the Peacocks roared back to tie in the bottom half of the inning on a sac fly from freshman catcher Jace Gilligan and a double steal of home by senior outfielder Tyler DeClusin. Saint Peter’s then claimed a two-run lead in the fourth on a sac bunt by junior catcher/outfielder Ashby Vining and an RBI single by DeClusin.
Marist fought back to tie the game at six in the fifth on an RBI double by Kapuscinski and an RBI single by Bohlman. That lead did not last long, however, as Lomangino capped Orr’s outing with a 2-run homer in the bottom half that put the Peacocks ahead 8-6.
Neither team scored again, with graduate student pitcher Jack Wren delivering a strong 3 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out four for Marist. Freshman pitcher Linden Reaburn and freshman pitcher Drew DelCollo pitched the final 4 1/3 innings for Saint Peter’s, allowing one hit and no runs as DelCollo earned his third save of the year.
Entering the final rubber match, Marist turned to sophomore pitcher Will Taylor. He had an uneven outing, giving up three runs in three innings before turning it over to Hartley, who pitched all of the final six innings in dominating fashion, allowing no runs and one hit to go along with nine strikeouts.
Marist evened the game twice over the first three innings thanks to solo home runs from Decker and sophomore infielder Bayram Hot before Marist jumped ahead for good later in the inning on a Conrad bases-loaded walk.
Mackle delivered a 2-run single in the fifth, and Kapuscinski delivered one of his own in the eighth, extending the Red Fox lead to 8-3, while Wren kept the Peacock offense at bay, locking down a series win for Marist.
For the Red Foxes, the series served as another reminder about the importance of their pitching staff. They are 7-1 this season in games where they allow five or fewer runs and 0-14 otherwise. With conference play underway, pitching has been the determinant of whether the team can stay in games.
Hot, last year’s MAAC Rookie of the Year, has continued to struggle with his season batting average sitting at .160. After his second home run of the year, Marist hopes he can help the likes of Conrad, Kapuscinski, Decker and Ali carry the offense into conference play.
Next up for Marist is a Tuesday afternoon game against Sacred Heart at 3 p.m. before they return home and continue their conference slate with their first home game of the season next weekend against Niagara. The series is slated to begin at 3 p.m. on Thursday.
Edited by Sam Murphy and Luke Sassa
Photo from Marist Athletics via Stockton Photo
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