On the final day of January, Marist baseball hosted its third annual First Pitch Dinner, an evening dedicated to raising money for the baseball program and showcasing both a former Marist baseball squad and key contributors for the upcoming season.
The event, which featured an Italian buffet, nearly 100 raffle prizes and $70 entry tickets to raise money for the team, honored the NEC Championship-winning 1997 team and discussed some of its qualities that the 2026 team could look to emulate. In addition to raising money for the program and honoring a former team, the dinner also served as an opportunity for the program to announce its four captains for the upcoming season: graduate student outfielder Nathan Lincoln, senior infielder AJ Brotz, redshirt junior left-hander Will Taylor and redshirt junior right-hander Tyler Hartley.
“It’s super special for the alumni, but it’s as equally special for myself,” Marist athletic director Tim Murray said of the event. “I am spending more time visiting with alumni and listening to their stories and experiences that they had as students at Marist.”
The evening kicked off with short opening statements from Geoff Brault, a staple voice in Marist play-by-play broadcasting, and Senior Associate Athletic Director Elizabeth Donahue before a roundtable of 1997 Marist baseball alumni took the stage. George Santiago, Chris Webb, Ben Shove, Mark Barron and Jim McGowan all attended.
Though derailed by injury throughout the season, the 1997 Red Foxes always felt confident in their ability to dominate opponents.
“There was no second-guessing we would win,” said McGowan.
Both current head coach Lance Ratchford and the 1997 players emphasized the importance of camaraderie and trust in order to overcome challenges during the season; they won the NEC conference tournament with only four pitchers.
1997 head coach John Szfec, who could not attend the event due to inclement weather, sent in a brief video message. Szefc, now the head coach at Virginia Tech, thanked Marist for giving him his “coaching life.”
“As much as Marist gave me the opportunity, which they did, the 1997 team pretty much gave me a life in baseball,” Szefc said. “The opportunities I’ve had after ‘97 were afforded to me because of ‘97. Thank you again to Marist and to the ‘97 team for playing monstrous parts in my life.”
Szefc remains in touch with many of the former players from his championship roster as well as other Marist staff members. This includes Murray, who saw many positive traits in the 1997 team, including their “character.” For the freshmen on the current team in attendance, Murray hoped for them to take away the importance of working as a team and building chemistry.
“As important as it is to be a good baseball player, it’s more important to be a good teammate and to have good chemistry because that’s gonna win those really tough games,” said Murray.
During the roundtable of 1997 players, the five Marist alumni dove into memorable stories of their time on the diamond, including Szefc driving the team to road games in minivans; sometimes, the players even drove the vans themselves. Those commutes followed practices that began at 5 a.m.
Each story from the roundtable served to convey the message that the 2026 ball foxes should embrace the qualities of comradery, trust and leadership. In 1997, everyone held each other accountable, a key to their success.
This year, Ratchford and his coaching staff of assistant/pitching coach Niko Amory, hitting/outfield coach Ray Sanchez and assistant coach/director of player development Zachary Donahue will lead the Red Foxes. Marist will start their charge on Friday when they travel to East Tennessee State University for a three-game series before heading to central Nashville to face Vanderbilt beginning on Feb. 20. For Ratchford, simply contending will be key when facing the two-time College World Series Champions.
“The mindset is to go down there and compete,” Ratchford said. Regardless of a win, Ratchford and his coaching staff hope that each of their young players take something away from every single game and experience, even at the first Pitch Dinner.
“The 1997 team and the 2026 team are both ready,” Ratchford said near the end of the event. “You guys were just ready to win; that is exactly how I feel about this next group.”
Edited by Max Rosen and Mike Duda
Photo by John Jankowski
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