On Feb. 13, the Red Foxes baseball team kicked off the 2026 campaign with a trip to East Tennessee State University (ETSU) for a three-game series with the Buccaneers.
The Red Foxes are coming off a 26-28 overall season and an even 14-14 season in the MAAC Conference. They fell to Quinnipiac in game 10 of the 2025 MAAC Championship and suffered a season-ending elimination. 2025 Southern Conference champion ETSU ended their 2025 charge 41-17 overall, while qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
Perseverance was key for Marist on opening day, but offensive struggles in the late doings of the ninth led to their season-opening demise.
Head coach Lance Ratchford turned to redshirt junior and left-handed ace Will Taylor, while ETSU head coach and 2025 Southern Conference Coach of the Year, Joe Pennucci, turned to former Coastal Carolina pitcher, Tadan Bell. Bell would end his night with three earned runs and four hits through 3.2 innings courtesy of an RBI single by slugging sophomore infielder Noel Rivera and two additional sacrifice flyouts in the fourth.
Taylor finished the 2025 season with a 3.36 ERA through 77.2 innings of work. Taylor concluded his start by going three innings, giving up two hits and two earned runs with five strikeouts. He would later be replaced by right-handed redshirt sophomore Andrew Fierro, who ended his night with six hits, two strikeouts and four walks through 4.1 innings and 79 pitches. Closing it out for Marist was Caleb Kempler, finishing out the eighth and giving up one earned run.
With a two-run deficit in the ninth, Rivera blasted a solo home run, making the score 6-5, getting the Red Foxes within striking distance in an attempt to set up a game-tying RBI situation for the lineup behind him. Rivera finished 3-4, with two RBI and a walk.
Unable to connect for the remainder of the inning, the Red Foxes fell just short to the Buccaneers with a final score of 6-5.
The next day, both sides were back at it. For Marist, the ball was handed to redshirt junior right-hander Tyler Hartley. Hartley started his night by letting off an RBI double on a 3-1 count to 2025 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, outfielder Axel Melendez. Hartley was pulled in the fourth after giving up an RBI single with two outs remaining.
For ETSU, they started junior Michael Harpster, who went 3.2 innings, giving up three earned runs, three hits and four walks. He was later pulled in substitution for the lefty senior in Cody Carwile.
With a final score of 7-5, headlined by Buccaneers sophomore infielder, Henry Ferguson (3-4/2B/RBI), ETSU figured out the Marist pitching staff in the middle innings, dominating on offense and setting up beneficial situations for RBI chances and sacrifice flyouts, scoring five runs from the fourth to sixth inning of play.
As for Marist, the bats were hot until they were not. Able to keep an even scoring pace and keep the game tied 4-4 through five innings, the Red Foxes regained momentum in the seventh after a homer by freshman infielder Connor Lawrence, but could not find a comeback after being down by one in the eighth after a game-sealing RBI single from Ferguson. The Red Foxes sat 0-2 after the game two loss.
ETSU never let off the gas one bit in the third and final game. Highlighted by two-way-playing redshirt sophomore, Tyler Fetterman, ETSU pulled off a commanding 7-2 victory over Marist. For Fetterman, he went 2-3 with a double, a homerun and an RBI.
Inconsistent pitching for Marist led to their downfall. The Red Foxes brought out starting right-handed graduate student, Jack Sullivan, who began his campaign on a high note, shutting out two of his three innings on the rubber, and was later replaced by Connor Southwell.
As for the Marist offense, it was freshman outfielder TJ Baer leading the way. Baer ended his game three campaign going 3-4 with a walk.
Ratchford and the Red Foxes are scheduled to take on No. 7 Vanderbilt for a three-game series in the heart of Nashville, with a scheduled 3:00 p.m. first pitch this Friday.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic by Xavier Angel
Photo by Marist Athletics
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