Marist baseball dropped two out of three this weekend in a crucial three-game road series against Manhattan, dropping them to seventh in the MAAC Conference standings with one weekend to play in the regular season.
The Red Foxes’ playoff fortune remains in their hands; if they win two out of three against Siena this coming weekend, they will be in the top eight of the standings and earn a trip to the MAAC Championship in Pomona, N.Y. However, if they win only once or get swept, they will leave the door cracked for Niagara and Manhattan to slide past them and into the playoffs.
Marist entered the series fresh off a thrilling series win over first-place Fairfield, while Manhattan came in after sweeping last-place Saint Peter’s to more clearly present themselves at the rear end of the MAAC playoff picture.
Due to poor weather on Friday, Marist and Manhattan began the series on Saturday with a doubleheader on the campus of Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. Game one saw Marist get off to a fast start behind redshirt sophomore ace Will Taylor.
Taylor lowered his season ERA to 3.26 with six brilliant innings, allowing three hits, no runs and striking out eight. After delivering 5.2 innings of one-run ball in his previous start against Fairfield, Taylor has propelled the Red Foxes to victory in each of his last two starts – perhaps the two most important of his season – while allowing just one run in 11.2 innings.
The game became a pitcher’s duel over the first five innings with Taylor and Manhattan junior right-hander Braedon Romero matching zeros. But in the sixth, the Red Foxes jumped on the board courtesy of an RBI groundout by graduate student infielder/outfielder Jason Claiborn and an RBI single by junior infielder AJ Brotz.
Marist tacked on an unearned run in the seventh and ninth innings on two plays off the bat of junior infielder Brady Steinert. The first, a groundout to the pitcher, scored senior outfielder Nate Lincoln after he found himself on third base following an error by Jaspers sophomore center fielder Aidan Katzman. The second, an RBI single, scored redshirt freshman outfielder Chris Diaz after he reached on an error and advanced to second on a passed ball.
Meanwhile, after Taylor exited the game heading into the seventh, redshirt freshman right-hander Ethan Marzo dominated throughout three scoreless innings to finish the ballgame. He worked around two hits and three walks while striking out four to lock down a 4-0 series-opening win for Marist.
In game two, the Red Foxes put up six hits and four runs for the second straight game – but this time the Manhattan bats came alive, highlighted by eight runs split between the seventh and eighth innings.
Senior right-hander Chris Ubner started for the Red Foxes and delivered his longest start of the season. He threw five innings and worked around four hits and five walks to allow just one run and bring his season ERA back below 4.00 to 3.89.
Manhattan senior right-hander Brad Grasser also turned in a quality performance by going six innings and allowing one run on a first-inning RBI by Diaz. After Jaspers junior infielder Ryan Lordier tied the game in the third with an RBI single for Manhattan’s only run against Ubner, neither team scored until the seventh inning.
But beginning in the seventh, the Jaspers’ bats took off.
After tossing a scoreless sixth inning, sophomore left-hander Andrew Speranza walked back-to-back hitters in the seventh to set up a three-run home run by junior utility man Trevor Hansen that catapulted Manhattan ahead 4-1.
Marist came right back in the top of the eighth when graduate student shortstop Zach Donahue smacked a two-run double and eventually scored on a passed ball to even the game 4-4, the final time the Jaspers did not lead.
Freshman right-hander Logan Scholl took the mound in the eighth inning for Marist. He recorded two outs but surrendered two singles and a hit by pitch that put Manhattan back ahead 5-4 before being pulled in favor of graduate student right-hander Riley Orr.
Orr struggled mightily, first allowing an RBI single to make the score 6-4. Then, he issued three walks and a hit by pitch to the next four batters, the latter three of which came with the bases loaded, to put the game out of reach and hand the Jaspers a 9-4 win.
Marist could have locked up a playoff berth with a sweep of Manhattan but losing game two guaranteed that their games next week hold playoff implications. And after losing game three, they matter just a bit more.
Redshirt sophomore right-hander Ty Hartley started the final game for the Red Foxes and struggled, as has been the theme for most of his season. He gave up five runs in 4.1 innings after giving up seven in just two innings in his previous start to raise his ERA to 7.69. By the end of the fifth inning, the Red Foxes trailed 5-1, highlighted by a second-inning two-run homer by graduate student catcher Tyler Galletti.
Marist got a run back in the seventh by way of Donahue’s second homer of the season, but Manhattan once again responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to go ahead 7-2. In the eighth, Galletti launched his second homer of the game – and the season – to cap the Jaspers’ scoring at eight runs.
The Red Foxes had the bases loaded with one out in the eighth but managed just one run, a sacrifice fly by sophomore center fielder Lewis Rodriguez. In the ninth, the Red Foxes fought back furiously as Manhattan pitchers walked four batters, two of whom came with the bases loaded, and surrendered a two-run single to Donahue to get Marist back within a run. But with the tying run on third, Marist’s comeback fell just short as Steinert struck out to end the game in an 8-7 Jaspers win with Galletti’s second homer proving to be the difference.
Heading into the final weekend of play, the Red Foxes sit in seventh place in the MAAC with a 12-13 conference record, just ahead of Manhattan (12-14) and Niagara (11-16). In order for Marist to miss the playoffs, both Manhattan and Niagara need to pass them in the standings. For that to happen, Marist needs to drop at least two games in their final series against Siena while Niagara needs to sweep their final series against Canisius and Manhattan needs to win twice against Mount St. Mary’s. If the Red Foxes get swept, Niagara needs to win just twice and Manhattan just once.
However, Marist remains in full control of whether it will be playoff-bound for the second consecutive season. If they win at least twice against Siena, they guarantee themselves a spot at Clover Stadium for the MAAC Championship beginning on May 21.
The Red Foxes wrap up their home schedule with a non-conference tune-up against Fordham at 3 p.m. on Tuesday before they head north to play Siena on Friday.
Edited by Marley Pope
Photo via Marist Athletics
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