Marist baseball split the two games of a Saturday doubleheader with Manhattan, dropping the first contest and rebounding to win the second from Poughkeepsie.
In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the Jaspers (12-24, 5-9 MAAC conference) defeated the Red Foxes (13-24, 6-8 MAAC) 9-3.
Sophomore pitcher Tyler Hartley went five innings for Marist, allowing three runs and four hits and adding only two strikeouts in his start. Manhattan graduate student pitcher Justin Solimine pitched 4 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and three runs, with two strikeouts as well.
In the second inning, Manhattan got busy. Freshman left fielder Vincent Davis and senior catcher Logan Pfannenbecker led off with walks; Davis advanced to third after a wild pitch. Sophomore first baseman Trevor Hansen singled, and Manhattan scored the game’s first run. Pfannenbecker advanced to third after a flyout and scored after freshman right fielder Aidan Katzman reached on a fielder’s choice.
Marist sophomore shortstop Bayram Hot came out swinging with a leadoff triple to center field in the bottom of the second. Graduate student second baseman Johnny Decker walked, and after sophomore outfielder Dylan Millman was hit by a pitch, the Red Foxes had bases loaded with zero outs. Sophomore third baseman Brady Steinert grounded into a double play but picked up an RBI as Hot crossed home. That was all the damage Marist could do for the inning as they cut the lead to 2-1.
Sophomore first baseman Ethan Conrad singled for Marist, and a base hit by graduate student outfielder Colin Mackle scored Conrad from second, knotting the game at two.
The tie was short-lived as Davis mirrored Conrad’s actions from the previous inning. He got on base with a single and then scored from second thanks to a single from Hansen, giving Manhattan the lead back at 3-2.
In the bottom of the fifth, Conrad and graduate student infielder Justin Kapuscinski both singled, leading to a pitching change for the Jaspers as sophomore Greg Shaw replaced Solomine. Mackle immediately doubled to left field, scoring Conrad to tie the game at three.
Manhattan never looked back after the top of the sixth. They scored two runs to take the lead; Hansen doubled to left field and brought home Davis to take the lead at 4-3. A single by Katzman helped score Hansen from a throwing error by Steinnert, giving Manhattan a two-run lead. The Red Foxes got singles from Steinart and Millman but saw no assistance from the rest of the Marist lineup; this was the start of four scoreless innings by Shaw.
With the Jaspers up 5-3, Wyers crushed a solo home run to left field in the seventh, adding an insurance run. Manhattan tacked on four more runs via multiple base hits to eventually win 9-3.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Marist came out on top with a 9-6 win over Manhattan.
Sophomore pitcher Caleb Kempler was on the bump for Marist, going 3.2 innings, allowing three runs, with four hits and eight strikeouts. For Manhattan, sophomore Garret Garbinski started for the Jaspers, going four innings, allowing four hits, and walking six while giving up five runs with one strikeout.
Marist sophomore pitcher Caleb Kempler was solid in the first inning with two strikeouts. But in the second inning, Manhattan scored three runs to take an early lead.
Senior outfielder Frankie Marinelli singled and advanced after a wild pitch and senior right fielder Trevor Santos struck out but reached first after an error by Conrad. Manhattan plated three runs thanks to singles by freshman outfielder Aidan Katzman and redshirt sophomore infielder Daniel Perez. Despite the runs, Kempler had four strikeouts in the top of the inning.
Marist would break out in the third and tie the game at three. Conrad and Rodriguez walked, and Mackle singled to get the bases loaded. Hot came through with a double, making Manhattan’s lead 3-2. Graduate student second baseman Johnny Decker singled right and tied the game at three. Hot tried to add another run, but was thrown out at home trying to take the lead.
With the game tied at three heading into the fifth, both teams got active at the plate. Manhattan got two walks from sophomore infielder Drew Wyers and Marinelli; Santos walked after a strikeout to get the bases loaded. With the bases juiced, sophomore infielder Trevor Hansen singled to score two runners, and junior catcher Andreaus Lewis doubled to score another to make it 6-3.
Marist responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for the first time in the doubleheader. Rodriguez walked, and a pitch hit Kapuscinski to get runners on first and second for Marist. As freshman pitcher Michael Staiano came in for the Jaspers, the Red Foxes did not give him a warm welcome.
Mackle immediately walked to get bases loaded with zero outs, and a second consecutive walk by Hot made it 6-4. Decker would then double to left field to tie the game at six. Millman reached on a fielder’s choice, making it 8-6 Marist.
Senior pitcher Brian Yetter settled down after giving up three runs in the fifth and threw four scoreless innings to finish out the game for Marist. The Red Foxes would back Yetter up and continue to rack up hits; Hot scored one run with a sac fly, giving Marist a 9-6 lead.
Yetter continued to hold off Manhattan in the eighth, as a walk from Katmanz was again the only base runner for the Jaspers. Marist continued to hit with singles from Hot and Mackle, but it led to no runs,
In the final inning, Yetter got all three batters out and finished the game with a strikeout to help Marist take game two of the doubleheader 9-6.
Marist will battle Manhattan tomorrow at noon for game three to finish out the weekend series.
Edited by Sam Murphy
Graphic by Raegan Van Zandt; Photo from Jaylen Rizzo
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