April 18, 2002
East Hartford, Conn - The Marist College baseball team stretched its program record winning streak to 13 games, with a 21-13 win over host Hartford this afternoon on ray McKenna Field. Marist improved to 21-9 on the year with the victory, while the Hawks fell to 10-17.
Keith Brachold paced the Red Foxes offensive onslaught going 4-5 with four RBI, four runs scored and a homerun.
The Hawks got out of the gates quickly, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first on four consecutive hits, but the Red Foxes came back with three of their own in the top of the third. The first two Marist runs came on a two run home run by Jimmy Willis and the third on a solo shot by Brachold, to make the score 4-3 going into the bottom of the third. In the bottom of the third, Hartford took advantage of four Marist errors to plate eight runs on five hits, highlighted by a two run double off the bat of Ron Acabbo. The Hawks sent 12 men to the plate in what was their biggest inning of the season to take a 12-3 lead.
The score remained 12-3 into the top of the fifth, when the Red Foxes took their turn at a big inning. Marist sent 16 batters to the plate, and the Hawks used four different pitchers to get through the inning. Four different players had two RBI hits, Anthony Bocchino, John McGorty, Brachold, and Tim Allen. Allen, who entered the game as a pinch hitter as the second batter of the inning, came to bat twice in the inning, singling and scoring in his first at bat, and belting a two run home run to left in his second at bat. He would finish the day three for five with two RBI and two runs scored.
Ken Catino earned the win in relief for Marist, allowing just one run in 2.1 innings of wrok. Scott Chambers started, faced six batters in the second inning, allowing 10 runs on seven hits. Five Marist relievers allowed just three runs over the final eight innings of work.
Hartford would respond in the bottom of the inning, as Matt Denorfia's RBI single tied the score at 13-13. However, Marist would score three more in the top of the sixth and five in the top of the ninth to emerge with the victory.
All told, 11 players posted multiple hit games, and eight posted multiple RBI games, as the two teams combined for 34 runs and 33 hits.
Marist returns to action this weekend, as it travels to Lewiston, NY for a three-game Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) set with Niagara. The Red Foxes, 10-2 in MAAC play, will play a double-header on Saturday, and a single game on Sunday. Action begins at 12:00 noon on both days.
