The Marist baseball team went 0-4 in their season-opening weekend in Winston-Salem, NC against Wake Forest and LIU. The Red Foxes played both teams twice and gave up double-digit runs three times while struggling mightily against two strong offenses, highlighted by Wake Forest’s former Marist standout Ethan Conrad.
The junior outfielder, who hit .389 and led the nation with 13 triples as a Red Fox last season, torched the Marist pitching staff all weekend, going 5-7, reaching base safely eight times and driving in six runs.
Wake Forest (4-0) opened the season as the 16th-ranked team in the country and LIU (2-2) won last season’s NEC Conference tournament, making them both quality opponents. While struggles for Marist against them to open the season may not be too surprising, the manner in which they struggled was in many ways a reminder of the control issues that plagued them last season.
In the season-opener on Friday against LIU, the Red Foxes fell into a quick hole. LIU put up three first-inning runs against Marist starter, redshirt sophomore right-hander Tyler Hartley, by way of a three-run home run by junior third baseman Ryan Rivera. The two runners that were on base for Rivera’s homer reached by way of a walk and hit by pitch respectively.
The Sharks scored another run in the fourth against Hartley, who finished his day after going 4.1 innings and allowing four runs. He gave up only one hit but walked four and hit one; a familiar sight for the Red Fox pitching staff. LIU also added one run in the fifth against junior right-hander Caleb Kempler off of a solo homer by senior catcher Joseph Durso, extending their lead to 5-0.
Graduate student shortstop Zach Donahue, who Marist head coach Lance Ratchford expects to play an important role in his first season as a Red Fox, got Marist on the board in the eighth with a two-run single. After the Sharks scratched an unearned run in the ninth, Marist graduate student outfielder Jason Claiborn singled in another run in the bottom of the inning to cut the Shark advantage to 6-3. Then, Donahue found himself in a huge spot, hitting with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth with the tying run on first. He lined out to shortstop, ending the game.
Just a few hours later, Marist was back on the field to take on the No. 16 team in the country, Wake Forest. In his first at-bat against Marist, Conrad stroked an opposite-field two-run double that gave Wake Forest a 3-1 lead in the second inning; one they did not relinquish the rest of the way.
Marist starter, graduate student right-hander Riley Orr, did not make it out of the third inning after allowing four hits and four runs while issuing five walks and hitting a batter. He was replaced by junior right-hander Jake Burt who made his Red Fox debut after transferring from Brookdale Community College. Burt was hampered by his defense, giving up seven runs total of which only two were earned across 3.1 innings. He also gave up seven hits.
By the time Burt was replaced by senior right-hander Ty Morris, Marist was trailing 10-4 in the seventh. Morris was effective out of the bullpen, throwing two no-hit innings.
Conrad finished the game going 3-4 with two doubles and three RBI. Wake Forest junior shortstop Marek Houston went 2-4 with a walk and a home run; Houston homered in each of the Demon Deacons’ first three games of the season. For the Red Foxes, sophomore center fielder Lewis Rodriguez, junior catcher Kyle Pollack and junior infielder/outfielder Aydan McNelly all collected two hits.
After going 0-2 on Friday, Marist was back at Couch Stadium for their second matchup with LIU at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday; and they did not fare much better.
Just like in the first game against LIU, the Red Foxes fell behind quickly; they found themselves in a 5-1 hole by the fifth inning. Three of those five runs were unearned thanks to two separate defensive miscues. Despite the deficit, Marist rallied back. Between the sixth and seventh innings, they scored five runs to take a 6-5 lead thanks to two RBIs apiece from Donahue and McNelly and a sac-fly from Rodriguez.
The rest of the game was all Sharks. LIU scored five times across the sixth and seventh innings, highlighted by a two-run homer by sophomore outfielder Chandler Ketchup, ultimately leading to an 11-6 Sharks victory. Before the game fell apart, Marist’s starting pitcher, redshirt sophomore left-hander Will Taylor, turned in the best start of the weekend for Marist allowing two earned runs over four innings of work.
Sunday’s final game of the weekend was the toughest for the Red Foxes, a seven-inning 24-6 loss to Wake Forest that resembled the score of a lopsided football game. The Demon Deacons scored their 24 runs in just six innings.
Marist walked an incredible 12 batters in those six innings while also allowing 16 hits and hitting three batters. Conrad continued to dominate his former team, driving in three more runs and reaching base four times, including a two-run homer.
The lone bright spots for Marist were on the offensive side. McNelly capped off a strong weekend in which he collected seven hits with a 2-4 performance in the finale. Redshirt freshman outfielder Chris Diaz also notched two hits, including his first collegiate home run.
Marist will have plenty of time to regroup before traveling to William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA for three games this coming weekend. The series opens on Friday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Photo from Jaylen Rizzo
Graphic via Cara Lacey
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