Marist baseball continued its early-season struggles, going 0-4 against Purdue in a weekend series at Ting Stadium in Holly Springs, N.C.
The Purdue Boilermakers entered the series 4-3, coming off a two-game winning streak after facing Baylor and Oregon State in the Round Rock Classic last weekend.
In game one, redshirt junior left-hander Will Taylor toed the slab for the Red Foxes. The southpaw entered the series with a 13.50 ERA, looking to get his first win of the 2026 season. Taylor dominated early, allowing only two hits and zero runs through three innings.
Marist applied pressure in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with no one out, but an inning-ending double play kept them scoreless. Taylor came out for his fourth inning of work, looking to keep the score even at 0-0, but could not keep Purdue’s offense at bay.
After a lead-off double, a two-run home run driven by senior third-baseman Sam Flores gave Purdue the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Boilermakers’ momentum continued, knocking Taylor out of the game as they scored three more runs in the fourth.
Marist responded quickly in the top of the fifth. Back-to-back singles from the Red Foxes gave way to a two-RBI triple off the bat of freshman infielder Connor Lawrence to make it a 5-2 game.
Senior catcher Jackson Bessette broke open the game for Purdue in the seventh with an explosive three-run home run over the right field wall. Despite late scoring from Marist, Purdue took game one with a 9-4 victory.
Saturday at Ting Stadium featured 18 innings of action-packed baseball. Game one of the doubleheader was a thriller, which resulted in Marist’s eighth loss of the season.
Redshirt junior right-hander Tyler Hartley was on the bump for the Red Foxes. The right-handed pitcher cruised through the first three innings, allowing no runs and zero hits. But just like Taylor, the Boilermakers roughed him up in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring two earned runs and forcing Marist to make the call to the bullpen.
Sophomore shortstop Noel Rivera’s second home run of the day came in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 4-4 for Marist. Purdue responded immediately in the bottom of the inning, scoring one run off a groundout to make it 5-4. An opposite-field solo shot off the bat of fifth-year first baseman CJ Richmond increased Purdue’s seventh-inning lead.
The Marist offense came alive in the top of the eighth inning. They reclaimed the lead, scoring three runs on three hits. Leading 7-6 entering the top of the ninth, the Red Foxes kept pouring in runs. A single up the middle from graduate student outfielder Nathan Lincoln drove in Lawrence, before a home run off the bat of freshman outfielder Chase Haglund plated two and extended the Red Fox lead to 10-6.
With their backs to the wall, trailing by four runs in the bottom of the ninth, Purdue went to work against the Marist bullpen; free passes and wild pitches fueled Purdue’s offense. Sophomore right-hander Logan Scholl found himself in trouble after walking one and giving up two hits against Purdue to load the bases. Senior right-hander Caleb Kempler came in with no one out, trying to get the save. He uncorked three wild pitches and allowed the go-ahead run to score as Marist failed to record a single out in the inning, while Purdue came all the way back to win game two 11-10.
Purdue’s momentum from game two carried over into game three on Saturday. The Boilermakers’ offense seized control while their pitching staff dominated Marist batters to sweep the doubleheader.
The Red Foxes struck first, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The back-and-forth continued as Purdue retaliated in the bottom of the inning to make it a 2-1 game.
The wild pitch proved to be a problem for the Marist pitching staff. Graduate student right-hander Chris Ubner struggled to find his groove on the mound, giving up his third run in two innings courtesy of the wild pitch. A lead-off double in the fourth ended Ubner’s day as freshman left-hander Connor Southwell entered in relief.
Senior right-hander Austin Klug settled in nicely for Purdue following the first inning. He retired 15 consecutive batters, completely shutting down the Marist offense. He finished the day allowing only one run on two hits and striking out six in 5.2 innings of work.
Marist’s seemingly dead bats showed signs of life in the top of the seventh. Singles off the bats of Senior catcher Kyle Pollack and Lincoln put some traffic on the bases for the Red Foxes. Lincoln came around to score Marist’s first run in over five innings thanks to a throwing error on a failed pickoff attempt.
The wild pitch struck again, this time in the bottom of the eighth; senior outfielder Eli Anderson came home to score, extending the Purdue lead to six and capping off the scoring in game two. Purdue swept the doubleheader with an 8-2 victory over Marist.
The ball clubs were back at it Sunday afternoon for the final game of the four-game set. Purdue ended the weekend in blowout fashion, run-ruling the Red Foxes after seven innings.
Senior left-hander Jarvis Evans took the mound for the Boilermakers, looking to complete the sweep.. Evans struck out eight batters, allowing only one run in 4.1 innings of work. The Purdue bullpen finished off the Red Foxes, halting their offense once again.
Marist’s pitching continued to struggle. Walks and wild pitches were amongst the biggest issues for the staff, and Purdue capitalized on every mistake. A hit batter and three consecutive walks resulted in more free passes for Purdue as they took a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
The sloppiness carried into the third for Marist as a fielding error on sophomore catcher Drew McGowan loaded the bases with no one out. Freshman shortstop Westin Boyle drove home three more with a bases-clearing double. Flores added to the scoring with an RBI single up the middle to make it an 8-0 Purdue lead.
Marist’s only run came in the top of the fourth as senior infielder AJ Brotz doubled to score Lincoln from first base. As usual, Purdue got the run back immediately, thanks to a solo shot off the bat of junior right fielder Trey Swiderski. The Boilermakers continued to clobber on runs as back-to-back triples from redshirt-junior catcher/outfielder Ross Highfill and senior outfielder Brandon Rogers made it 12-1 in the bottom of the fourth.
A sixth-inning grand slam off the bat of redshirt senior catcher/outfielder Sergio Decello put the exclamation point on the weekend of a dominant offensive performance against Marist pitching. With the run-rule in effect after seven innings of baseball, Purdue took its fourth straight game against Marist, winning game four 18-1.
The Red Foxes will return home on Wednesday to face Hofstra University in their home-opener at Heritage Financial Park. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
Photo from Marist Athletics
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