Halfway through the MAAC Baseball Tournament’s second elimination game, Marist led 7-0. That changed in an instant before flipping on a dime again in a back-and-forth, bitter classic. The Red Foxes conceded eight unanswered runs for a second consecutive night but prevailed once more, sneaking past No. 4 Merrimack, 13-8.
Marist (25-29, 17-13 MAAC) trailed 8-7 entering the eighth inning on the heels of a stunning blown lead, but they refused to go back to their campus without eliminating the Warriors (27-29, 20-10 MAAC). They matched Merrimack’s 11-batter, six-run fifth by sending 11 batters of their own to the plate in a six-run eighth.
After throwing 20 pitches and earning the save in last night’s do-or-die game, graduate student pitcher Jack Sullivan played hero. He earned the win in three scoreless innings, allowing just two baserunners while striking out four. He entered with the job of keeping the Warriors’ lead at one and finished with the task of shutting the door. After throwing his 46th pitch of the night — 66th in a 24-hour span — he let out a sigh of relief in the Red Fox victory.
Red-hot sophomore utility Luke Monico brought in the tying run on an unconventional play. He popped up a bunt near the pitcher’s mound, but senior pitcher James Nichols slipped and could not make the bare-handed catch to keep Marist at bay.
Nichols could only hang his head in disappointment momentarily because the following batter, All-MAAC Second Team senior infielder AJ Brotz, bunted the ball right back to him. He squared on 2-0 and flew down the first-base line to produce a high throw from Nichols that prompted the Red Foxes to re-take the lead.
“Everybody in our lineup can utilize the bunt and create chaos,” said Ratchford in a postgame interview with ESPN+. “It’s a huge part of our game, and it helps us suffocate teams to death.”
Graduate student outfielder Nathan Lincoln’s RBI base hit split the left side to extend the lead to 10-8. This ended Nichols’ day after cruising his way through three innings. The senior conceded five runs – three of which were earned – on five hits in 3.1 innings. All of the runs and three of the hits occurred in the disastrous inning. A low-leverage, inning-eating situation turned into maintaining a one-run lead, and Nichols rose to the occasion before collapsing in the eighth.
Marist then tacked on three more insurance runs, all unearned. Brotz scored on a dropped fly ball error, Lincoln scored on a sacrifice fly from redshirt sophomore outfielder Chris Diaz and All-MAAC Rookie Team outfielder TJ Baer crossed the plate on a wild pitch.
“We always say the eighth inning is the most important of the game. We won that eight inning,” said Ratchford in a postgame interview with ESPN+.
The massive inning was the second time the Red Foxes batted around in an inning. They tacked on five in a historic first inning; in the frame, sophomore infielder Noel Rivera stole second for his 26th swipe of the season, a single-season program record.
Redshirt junior pitcher Steven Mazza pitched a gem for the first four innings, but he hit a wall in the fifth. The Forest Hills, N.Y., native yielded four earned runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings. The bullpen appeared to have been saved, but the Red Foxes used four pitchers. In order to win the tournament, the Red Foxes have an additional four games ahead of them over the next two days, making length from their starting pitching critical.
The Red Foxes continued to bunt effectively against the Warriors. A Rivera bunt single resulted in a sophomore left-handed pitcher Samuel Franco throwing error that brought in Marist’s second run. An off-target throw from senior outfielder Christian Scanlon advanced the Somerset, N.J., native to second in his first at-bat of the tournament. McGowan joined the party with an RBI single of his own, expanding the Marist lead to five.
“They put us in the blender pretty good in the first inning,” said Murphy during an in-game interview with ESPN+. “We didn’t do a very good job handling the short game.”
Franco settled in for the next three innings, only allowing a hit and a walk, with help from a stellar sliding stop from All-MAAC First Team sophomore second baseman Matt DeShiro. By the fifth, Franco’s lack of depth throughout his collegiate career caught up to him. The sophomore totaled seven earned runs on nine hits and two walks in 4+ innings.
Baer led off the frame with a single, followed up by a two-run blast from Diaz. The outfielder let Merrimack hear it once more on his trip around the bases that eventually served as vital insurance runs.
The Warriors retaliated with back-to-back doubles off the bats of graduate student outfielder Joey Frammartino and Cristino. Throughout the tournament, Marist’s defense slipped during the middle innings, and it did just that at tonight’s halfway point. Both doubles landed slightly outside the reach of each corner outfielder, ending Mazza’s outing.
Redshirt junior pitcher Bobby LeFevre did not record an out in relief in his second straight night of work, issuing two walks, a hit-by-pitch and two-RBI single. Sophomore pitcher Logan Scholl cleaned up the frame after his 21-pitch, two inning outing less than 24 hours prior with an enormous punchout. Merrimack batted around in the fifth, scoring six runs on just four hits.
Scholl’s strikeout only sealed the lead momentarily. Back-to-back walks preceded back-to-back RBI singles from Cristino and sophomore infielder Jayden Hamilton to give the Warriors their first advantage of the contest. Scholl finished the frame but yielded the lead in a two earned run, 1.1 inning appearance. He then handed the ball to Sullivan, who closed out the contest after the Red Fox comeback.
“Boys, let’s keep it going,” said Diaz in a postgame interview with ESPN+. “We got life in us. Let’s keep it going. This is all God’s plan.”
Marist tallied 14 hits, reaching the double figure mark for the second consecutive game. Through their first three games, they have averaged 8.7 runs and 10.3 hits per contest. Ratchford improved his elimination game record to 6-2 throughout his three consecutive tournament appearances. The Red Foxes look to eliminate a third squad, No. 2 Niagara on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Edited by Mike Schiavone
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
Photo From Marist Athletics
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