Marist baseball took the series win over MAAC opponent Quinnipiac University, but was unable to finish off the sweep, losing 6-2 on Sunday at McCann Field. Following the series, Marist finds itself in second place in the conference, standing at 13-5.
“Every MAAC game matters right now,” said head coach Lance Ratchford. “We’re trying to chase a regular season championship, we’re trying to chase a bye. Every one of these games matters, and these guys know it.”
Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Steven Mazza had an okay day on the mound for Marist, throwing six innings, allowing five runs, two being unearned, and striking out five. Senior right-handed pitcher Nick Balcom had a strong 5.1 innings of work for Quinnipiac, holding the Red Foxes to one run on five hits and striking out nine. Balcom was backed up by a strong defense that took multiple hits away from Marist.
The Bobcats came out swinging to open game three. A two-out single off the bat of graduate student outfielder James Marino drove in two runs in the top of the first, before an RBI single from freshman infielder Peyton Vancas made it a 3-0 game in the second. Opposingly, Marist bats struggled to get it done with runners in scoring position, a big switch from the offensive showcase the Red Foxes put on in their 9-2 victory in game two on Saturday.
Marist’s offense showed signs of life for the first time in the bottom of the sixth. Graduate student outfielder Nathan Lincoln got it started with a lead-off single, and sophomore catcher Scott Esposito doubled down the left field line to bring Lincoln home to put the Red Foxes on the board. Sophomore left-handed pitcher J.C. Franconere entered in relief for Balcom, earning back-to-back strikeouts to hold Marist to one run.
Quinnipiac continued to rack up hits against Marist pitching. An infield single, followed by a double in the eighth, set the Bobcats up with another opportunity with runners in scoring position. Senior outfielder Chase Camac’s sac fly extended the Quinnipiac lead to five.
The Red Foxes threatened at the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases with no one out. Redshirt-junior outfielder Dylan Millman worked himself a walk, bringing home Marist’s second run. Despite this, back-to-back strikeouts followed by a groundout killed the Red Foxes’ momentum and resulted in a 6-2 Marist loss.
“We just couldn’t string one more good at-bat together or one more quality one together; we were able to do that in the last couple of days, and today we just came up empty,” said Ratchford.
The Red Foxes begin their stretch of nine away games this Tuesday, against Rutgers University. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at Bainton Field.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Photo from Marist Athletics (Michael Lacroix-Fralish)
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X, TikTok and Bluesky, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.