After taking the first game of the weekend series on Friday in a 17-12 slugfest, the Rider Broncs defeated Marist baseball 8-3 in game two.
Marist (11-22, 4-7 MAAC conference) dropped another MAAC matchup, while Rider (15-15, 11-0 MAAC) maintained their perfect MAAC record. Junior pitcher Brian Young secured the win for Rider, going seven innings and striking out seven while only giving up three runs. Sophomore Caleb Kempler started on the mound for Mairst, striking out six while giving up two runs in a four-inning outing.
In the first inning, Marist got on the board first; a double from graduate student right fielder Johnny Decker set up the designated hitter Justin Kapuscinski, who launched a two-run homer to left field.
Rider followed up with two runs of their own in the second inning, tying the game up at two apiece. After a walk and single, junior left fielder Matt Shepherd singled through the right side to cut into the Marist lead. A second consecutive single by graduate student third baseman Jack Winsett scored another run to even the score at two. After allowing the two singles, Kempler finished the inning strong for Marist, striking out the final two batters.
The next two innings featured solid pitching from both Kempler and Young, with each earning a pair of strikeouts and limiting base runners.
In the top of the fifth inning, senior Brian Yetter replaced Kempler, but had a shaky first inning. Yetter immediately gave up a single to Winsett, and a double by senior catcher Brian Skettini scored Winsett to give Rider a 3-2 lead. Rider scored once more after an RBI walk by graduate student designated hitter Justin Costanzo, then was caught stealing, ending the inning. After the rally, Rider took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth.
The Red Foxes threatened in the bottom of the inning, with sophomore left fielder Austin Bohlam leading off with a hit by pitch. After moving into scoring position, Bohlman was stranded, as a fielder’s choice and a double play ended the inning.
After recording an out to begin the seventh inning, Yetter walked the next 3 Bronc batters, loading the bases for Rider and giving them a huge chance to break open the game. This prompted a pitching change for Marist, as Yetter was replaced by graduate student Jack Wren. Wren immediately brought the heat by striking out his first batter faced, and after getting the next batter grounded out, Marist escaped the jam.
Marist carried the momentum into the bottom of the inning, as Kapuscinski crushed his second homer of the day over the center field wall to cut the lead down to one. However, the momentum was short lived, as the next three batters all grounded out.
Freshman pitcher Jake Dorety replaced Young after a strong outing in which he pitched seven strong innings, and managed to keep Marist off the board.
In the ninth and final inning, Rider exploded for four runs, taking over the ballgame. After a leadoff single by Shepherd, Skettini reached on an error by the second baseman, senior Kyle Pollack; a wild pitch then advanced both runners. Pollack then made his third error of the day as two runs scored. Freshman second baseman Joe Tiroly made it 8-3 with a two-run dinger to add insurance to the Bronc lead.
All told, the sloppy ninth inning on defense made it four Marist errors on the day. In the bottom of the inning, a double play and strikeout allowed Rider to secure the 8-3 victory.
Marist will host Rider for the third and final game of the weekend today at noon.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Photo from Raegan Van Zandt
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