POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist baseball team picked up its sixth straight and 12^th overall non-conference win of the year with a 15-3 victory vs the Holy Cross Crusaders at McCann Field on Wednesday afternoon.

Marist also tied a season high with 15 runs (vs Army West Point, 4/29) and improved to 22-16 overall and 21-6 in its last 27 games played this season since beginning the year 1-10.

SUMMARY:

The Red Foxes opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when freshman Nick Cantone led off with a single and stole second two batters later. Redshirt senior Greg Kocinski followed with an RBI double to center field, redshirt sophomore Tyler Kapuscinski walked and junior Frankie Gregoire reached on a hit by pitch to load the bases. After a strike out swinging, a wild pitch allowed Kocinski to score and it was 2-0 Marist after one.

The Crusaders trimmed the deficit to one run in the top of the second. After a pop out to the shortstop, the next batter reached on a fielding error by the right fielder and advanced to second. Two batters later, an RBI single scored the runner and brought the score to 2-1 Red Foxes.

Marist answered in the bottom of the inning when sophomore Matt Rubayo reached on a hit by pitch, sophomore Patrick Lighter singled, Cantone walked and two batters later, Kocinski laced a two RBI single through the right side, scoring Rubayo and Lightner. Kapuscinski followed with an RBI sac fly and advanced to second and then third on a wild pitch during the next at bat. After Gregoire was hit by a pitch, junior Anthony Lazar followed with an RBI single through the left side that scored Kocinski, redshirt junior Chris Tracz walked and Rubayo smacked a two RBI double down the left field line to extend the lead to 8-1.

Holy Cross answered in the top of the third with a leadoff single and then put a runner on third when a wild pitch allowed the runner to move up two bases. A walk was then followed by an RBI sac fly to trim the score to 8-2 Red Foxes.

In the bottom of the fourth, Marist extended its lead again when Kapuscinski walked, Gregoire doubled to left center and Lazar followed with a three run home run to left field to give the Red Foxes an 11-2 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, back-to-back walks by Kocinski and Kapuscinski was followed with a third hit by pitch for Gregoire that loaded the bases. Lazar followed with an RBI fielder's choice with Kapuscinski out at third and freshman Gene Napolitano pinch hit for Tracz, reaching on a fielder's choice with Lazar out at second, before an errant throw by the shortstop got away from first and allowed Gregoire to score from third to bring the score to
13-2 Marist.

The Red Foxes added single runs in the bottom of the sixth and eighth on an RBI single and RBI double by Kapuscinski and after eight innings it was 15-2 Marist.

The Crusaders got one back in the top of the ninth with a fielding error by the second baseman that allowed the runner to reach second, a single up the middle and an RBI single through the right side but that was as close as they would get with the next two batters flying out to give the Red Foxes the 15-3 win.

KEY STATS:

• Marist outhit Holy Cross 13-8
• The Red Foxes committed two errors that allowed two unearned runs to score
• Both teams left 11 runners on base

GAME NOTES:

• Freshman Trevor Backman got the start and threw 3 innings while striking out one batter to give him five straight appearances with at least one strikeout in each and seven of nine appearances on the season
• Cantone tied a career high with 2 hits and set a career high with 4 runs scored
• Kocinski's 3 RBI marked his 3^rd multi-RBI game in his last 4 games played, his 2 hits gave him his 13^th multi-hit game
• Kapuscinski 2 hits marked the 21^st game this season in which he's hit safely and his 3 RBI tied a season high
• Gregoire's 3 runs scored marked a season high and his double gave him a hit in 4 of his last 5 games played
• Lazar's 2 hits extended his hitting streak to 4 games, his 2 runs scored tied a season high and his 5 RBI marked a season high and tied a career high
• Lightner's 2 hits marked his 2^nd straight multi-hit games and gave him at least 1 hit in 3 of his last 4 games
• Ruabyo's 2 RBI marked a season high and tied a career high
• Sophomore Will Van Beusekom picked up the win (2-0), his 4 strikeouts gave him his second straight game with 4+ strikeouts and his 0 runs allowed marked his 5^th straight scoreless appearance

UP NEXT:

Marist returns to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play when they travel to Fishkill, NY and Dutchess Stadium for a nine and seven inning doubleheader on Saturday at the Manhattan Jaspers at Noon.