Marist baseball suffered a series sweep at the hands of Niagara in Niagara Falls, New York over the weekend to fall to 13-8 in MAAC play and fourth place in the conference with just three series remaining.
The Red Foxes entered the series coming off a 10-4 win against Rutgers University and having won three of their last four conference series. The series played a potentially important role in MAAC playoff seeding as Niagara entered behind Marist in the standings with a 9-6 conference record, but leapfrogged the Red Foxes with the three wins.
The Purple Eagles rank third overall in team ERA and in the middle of the MAAC for both batting and fielding, but the Marist pitching staff struggled against what proved to be a gritty Niagara offense. The Red Foxes now have a team ERA of 6.73 after giving up a whopping 29 runs and 37 hits in the series.
In game one, Marist fought late into the ninth but came up short in a 10-6 loss. Redshirt-sophomore outfielder Chris Diaz had a monstrous day at the dish, going 4-4 overall with four RBIs and a pair of home runs. Senior infielder AJ Brotz also had an admirable day with three hits and one home run for Marist.
Niagara opened the scoring in the bottom of the first and was unstoppable, scoring in each of the first seven innings as the Red Fox pitching struggled to keep the Purple Eagles’ offense at bay. Redshirt-junior left-handed pitcher Will Taylor started for Marist amidst a stretch in which he has not had his usual stuff. The southpaw was pulled early in his last outing after not feeling right and going only 2.2 innings. Taylor had a similar outing this time around, throwing 2.1 innings, allowing six earned runs on four hits with only three punch-outs. Over his last three outings, Taylor has allowed 11 runs in 10 innings of work.
Redshirt-sophomore right-hander Andrew Fierro entered in relief for Taylor and did not fare much better, giving up four earned runs and allowing 10 hits en route to the series-opening loss.
Niagara halted the Marist offense in an 8-3 loss in game two Saturday afternoon. The Red Foxes left nine men on base, only plating three runs with five hits.
Graduate student outfielder Nathan Lincoln singled in the first to get Marist on the board early, but Niagara answered immediately to tie the game at 1-1. The Red Foxes never regained the lead.
After two scoreless innings, Niagara got to work in the bottom of the fourth, plating three runs. The scoring continued in the fifth as junior outfielder Noah Koning got things started with an RBI single before senior utility Curtis McKay added an RBI single through the right side. Back-to-back bases-loaded walks made it an 8-1 game. The Red Foxes got two runs back between the seventh and eighth innings, but the seven-run deficit proved too much to overcome.
The pitching struggles continued into game three for Marist as they looked to avoid a sweep. Three home runs from Niagara resulted in an 11-6 loss for Marist. The Red Fox offense stayed sharp despite the pitching woes—freshman outfielder TJ Baer went 4-for-5 on the day, and Brotz kept up his hot hitting, going 3-for-4.
Redshirt-junior right-handed pitcher Steven Mazza toed the slab for the Red Foxes. Niagara quickly figured Mazza out, plating four runs in the bottom of the first inning off a handful of doubles and singles.
The Purple Eagles continued to pour on runs in the third. Junior catcher Tyler Green hit a deep three-run home run to left field, extending the Niagara lead to seven. Sophomore infielder Tyler Vivacqua capped the inning, driving a two-run home run over the right-field wall, making it a 10-0 game and ending Mazza’s day.
Trailing 11-0, senior infielder Brady Steinert got the scoring started for Marist with a solo shot in the fifth. The Red Foxes added two runs on defensive miscues from Niagara and continued to battle in the seventh with three more runs on four hits, but once again the deficit proved too large to overcome.
The Red Foxes’ road trip continues as they head across the Hudson in a midweek non-conference game against Army West Point. First pitch is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic by Cara Lacey
Photo from Marist Athletics
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