Marist baseball swept MAAC rival Siena this weekend in their last three-game series at Heritage Financial Park.
Following the sweep, the Red Foxes find themselves in second place in the MAAC, one game behind Rider, after winning 10 of 12 conference games.
“It’s major,” said head coach Lance Ratchford, in reference to the Red Foxes’ hot start in MAAC play. “Obviously, you can tell our record here at Heritage is really good, and we’re off to a really good start conference-wise. That’s credited to playing at home and just being more comfortable.”
Graduate student outfielder Nathan Lincoln led the way for the Red Foxes in the first game of the series. Lincoln was just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-5 with four runs batted in. Sophomore infielder Noel Rivera also had himself a day at the plate, hitting 3-5 with a double and a triple.
Meanwhile, redshirt junior left-handed pitcher Will Taylor shut down the Saints’ offense. Taylor pitched six innings, striking out five, allowing only three hits. The Marist bullpen picked up where Taylor left off, holding Siena to zero runs.
Marist went to work early against Senior left-handed pitcher Tyler Sausville, who was recently named the MAAC Pitcher of the Week after pitching seven innings, allowing three hits and zero runs against Niagara.
Sausville’s start looked different this time around after an explosive seven-run third inning ended his day. The left-hander allowed 11 runs, four of which were earned, on ten hits in just 2.2 innings. The Red Foxes won game one by a whopping score of 11-0.
Similar to game one, Marist jumped out to an early lead in game two. Redshirt sophomore catcher Scott Esposito had a two-out bases-loaded single that plated two runs for Marist in the bottom of the first. Senior infielder Aydan McNelly followed up with an RBI single to extend the Red Fox lead.
“Punching first is always huge,” said Ratchford.
Redshirt-sophomore catcher Aidan Paradine singled in the top of the third to drive in senior catcher Gavin Thorburn to score Siena’s first run of the series. Senior infielder Nick Bergamotto opened the top of the fourth with a leadoff single, while graduate student outfielder Vincent Venditti hit a ground-rule double to tie the game at 3.
The Marist bats went cold as the middle innings began. Siena redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher David Siciliano found his groove after the first, with his changeup and breaking ball seeming unhittable for the Marist batters. A crucial RBI single off the bat of Rivera flipped the script in the bottom of the seventh and Lincoln drove in two more runs with a single to left field, reclaiming the lead for the Red Foxes.
“[Rivera and Lincoln] have been huge. Kyle Pollack has been out; he’s sick all weekend, so losing basically our best hitter, average-wise, those guys really had to pick up for him in the middle of the lineup, and they did a really good job,” coach Ratchford said.
Redshirt-sophomore right-handed pitcher Andrew Fierro entered the ninth for his third inning of work, looking to keep Siena’s offense at bay and nail down the save. Fierro got the job done, striking out the side and securing the 6-5 Marist win.
Game three saw a pitching duel between Marist’s redshirt-junior right-hander Steven Mazza and Siena’s redshirt-senior left-handed pitcher Richie Paltridge before the Marist bats exploded late in the game. Paltridge was backed up by Siena’s defense, which was on full display early Sunday afternoon – a big turnaround from game one, where they had two errors and allowed seven unearned runs.
The Saints opened the scoring at the top of the fourth inning. A sacrifice fly from junior infielder Jake Sparks and a Thorburn RBI single to left field made it 2-0, forcing Marist to make the call to the bullpen. Opposingly, the Marist offense struggled to find its groove against Paltridge. The Siena starter retired ten consecutive batters, holding the Red Foxes to one hit through four and one-third innings.
A two-out single off the bat of Esposito gave Marist its first base runner in over three innings and was the start of a big fifth inning rally from the Red Foxes. Senior infielder AJ Brotz’s eruptive bases-clearing double cut the Saints’ lead to three runs and put Marist back in the game. The Red Foxes continued to pour on runs as senior infielder Brady Steinert hit a no-doubter over the left field wall to give Marist a 9-6 lead.
The Red Foxes went on to score at least one run in four straight innings. Steinert capped off the scoring, grounding into a double play and driving in Marist’s thirteenth run. Marist completed its comeback and series sweep against Siena, winning game three 13-6. Marist baseball looks to stay hot in its return to McCann Baseball Field on Tuesday for a non-conference game versus NJIT. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Michael Lacroix-Fralish
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