Coming off a sweep at the hands of Niagara, Marist baseball picked up their second MAAC conference series win of the year by taking two out of three from Mount St. Mary’s in a thrilling weekend series.
The Red Fox (9-20, 4-5 MAAC) offense did just enough to secure two much-needed wins over a struggling Mountaineers team (6-21-1, 3-3 MAAC), gaining Marist some crucial momentum heading into the middle portion of MAAC play.
In game one, Marist’s pitching shut down the Mountaineers’ offense, a key factor to victory for the Red Foxes this season. Mount St. Mary’s scored just one run off an error by sophomore shortstop Bayram Hot.
A trio of Marist pitchers – sophomore Tyler Hartley, graduate student Jack Keenan and graduate student Jack Wren – worked together to deliver one of Marist’s best pitching performances of the season. They walked just two batters, a stark contrast to the Red Foxes’ continuous control issues.
Hartley worked the first 5 2/3 innings, allowing three hits, while Keenan worked the next 2 1/3 innings, also allowing three hits. Wren then slammed the door in the ninth to earn his third save of the year.
The offense managed to put up four runs, the first of which came when graduate student catcher Danny Moshier reached on an error in the fourth. In the eighth inning, with the game tied at one, graduate student outfielder Johnny Decker picked up an RBI infield hit to make it 2-1. Then in the ninth, sophomore outfielder Austin Bohlman delivered his first career home run, a two-run shot that made it 4-1 and helped secure the initial victory.
Game two was less kind to the Red Foxes, as lackluster defense caused the game to slip away. Marist committed a whopping six errors, aiding a twelve-run Mountaineer outburst.
The Mount jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first inning, scoring six runs – five earned – against Marist graduate student pitcher Riley Orr.
However, the Marist battled back in the second inning. Freshman outfielder Lewis Rodriguez drew a bases-loaded walk for Marist’s first run. Sophomore outfielder Dylan Millman then delivered a three-run triple to make the score 5-4 in favor of the Mount. Sophomore infielder/outfielder Ethan Conrad evened the score for Marist, scoring Millman with a double.
Marist was not done there; Conrad came around to score on a wild pitch before graduate student infielder Justin Kapuscinski launched a two-run homer to right field to cap the inning and give Marist an 8-5 lead all in the second frame.
The Mount got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run from senior infielder Scott Seeker before capitalizing in the third. Marist committed two errors to allow the Mountaineers to score in the inning, with a two-run single from sophomore pitcher/infielder JT Landwehr putting the Mountaineers ahead 10-8 to close the inning.
Sophomore catcher Kyle Pollack delivered an RBI single for Marist to cut into the lead in the fifth, but that was the Red Fox offense’s last gasp. Mount St. Mary’s tacked on two more runs in the seventh, one of which was again unearned. They exited the inning with a 12-9 lead and held on for a thrilling game two victory, evening the series score.
Entering the Sunday rubber match, the Red Foxes hoped to secure a series win. They sent graduate student pitcher Nate Chudy to the mound, and he delivered a solid three-inning performance in which he allowed just one run off a single to junior outfielder Evan Smith.
Marist evened the game in the fourth on an RBI single from Conrad, but the Mountaineers jumped back ahead in the bottom half of the inning, scratching three runs against Marist sophomore pitcher AJ Thomas to make the score 4-1.
The score stayed the same until the sixth, when Conrad delivered his second RBI single of the game. The Red Foxes then evened the game in the eighth thanks to an RBI hit from Decker and a run-scoring double play from Kapuscinski, making the score 4-4.
The Mount took their third lead of the game in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single from Seeker, but just as they had each of the previous times, Marist fought back to take a 6-5 lead thanks to RBI singles from Millman and Conrad.
In the bottom of the ninth, Wren secured his second save of the weekend and fourth of the year to earn the series win for Marist. Sophomore pitcher Will Taylor was also key on the mound for the Red Foxes, bridging the five-inning gap from Thomas to Wren while allowing just one run and two hits.
Conrad remains key for the Marist offense. He went 5-for-13 in the series, raising his batting average to .336. He has four home runs and 28 RBI on the season.
Rodriguez picked up a hit in the final game of the series, his first since March 20, to conclude a long hitless streak. The Red Foxes hope he can recapture some of the success he had early in the season and work his way back up in the lineup after being removed from the leadoff spot.
Marist takes on Albany in an afternoon doubleheader on Tuesday at McCann Field before continuing MAAC play this weekend at home against Rider.
Edited by Sam Murphy and Luke Sassa
Photo by Raegan Van Zandt
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X and TikTok, and sign up to receive daily alerts.