After dropping their home opener in game one of a doubleheader on Friday, Marist baseball proceeded to lose twice more in a three game sweep at the hands of Niagara. The sweep pushed the Purple Eagles’ win streak to eight.
The Red Foxes (7-19, 2-4 MAAC), in what has been a reocurring theme this season, struggled to keep runs off the board and faced early deficits in games two and three of the series. The pitching struggles and defensive woes quickly piled up, while their offense also struggled to string hits together.
In game two of the series, graduate student pitcher Riley Orr got the start for the Red Foxes. The Purple Eagles (18-7, 6-0 MAAC) struck quickly by scoring two unearned runs in the first; leadoff hitter and sophomore outfielder Nick Groves reached on an error by Marist freshman second baseman Julian Abreu, who was making just his second start of the year.
Niagara tacked on four more runs in the third inning, only one of which was earned. The Purple Eagles loaded the bases with one out before redshirt junior catcher Tommy Takayoshi reached on an error by Marist sophomore first baseman/catcher Kyle Pollack, allowing a run to score. Then, Orr uncorked a wild pitch that allowed another run to score before Abreu made his second error of the game on a play that scored two more runs.
Marist sophomore pitcher Tyler Hartley then replaced Orr, who finished just 2 ⅔ innings while allowing six hits and seven runs (one earned) and striking out five. Hartley did not find much more success, throwing two wild pitches that helped Niagara scratch across their fourth run of the inning. After the Marist defensive meltdown, Niagara led 7-0.
The Red Fox offense finally got going in the fourth inning when sophomore infielder Bayram Hot smacked an RBI double. Hot scored later in the inning on an error by Niagara senior infielder Brady Desjardins, cutting the Marist deficit to five.
Each team launched a pair of solo home runs later in the game, including Abreu’s first career home run, which was also his first career hit, to make the game 8-3.
Niagara’s pitching was strong, with two pitchers combining to hold the Marist offense at bay. Freshman pitcher Gage Wheaton pitched the first four innings, allowing just one earned run on two hits while redshirt sophomore pitcher Ryan Minckler pitched the final five innings allowing five hits and one run.
Despite struggling early, Hartley delivered four innings of one run ball for Marist before graduate student pitcher Jack Keenan entered and delivered 2 ⅓ innings of scoreless baseball. Their efforts were not enough to save the Red Foxes, as the offense did not get anything going and Marist fell 8-3.
Marist entered game three looking to salvage a win in the series, but again struggled on both sides of the ball in a seven-inning affair. Sophomore pitcher Will Taylor started for Marist and struggled mightily, giving up seven runs and eight hits over two innings of work.
Niagara homered three times, including one in the second inning from freshman outfielder Rees Kozar and two from redshirt junior infielder Eric Rataczac. Rataczac has racked up eight homers on the season, fourth best in the MAAC conference.
The Red Foxes did receive two scoreless innings of relief from sophomore pitcher Caleb Kempler in just his fourth outing of the season. In those outings, Kempler has pitched to a 1.69 ERA as he vies for a more prominent bullpen role.
Marist’s offense was shut down all game by a trio of Purple Eagle pitchers. Sophomore pitcher Preston Prince, graduate student pitcher Noah Richardson and freshman pitcher Carter Fink combined to deliver seven shutout innings while allowing just three hits, two of which came from redshirt junior infielder Marco Ali.
Rataczak’s second homer came in the seventh imming and gave Niagara a 10-0 lead, which wound up as the final score and completed a Purple Eagle sweep.
The Red Fox offense will try to get back on track after struggling in the final two games against Niagara, but their efforts will only matter if the pitching staff can keep them in games.
Marist’s next game is set for Wednesday when they travel to Piscataway, NJ to take on Rutgers in a 6 p.m. non-conference matchup.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Photo by Raegan Van Zandt
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