April 2, 2003
Box Score
Poughkeepsie, NY - The Marist College baseball team scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth-inning to break a 9-9 tie, and earn a 13-9 non-conference win over Hartford this afternoon on the McCann Baseball Field. The Red Foxes, winners of five straight, improve to 12-8 on the year, while the Hawks fall to 1-15.
John McGorty gave up five runs on six hits in his work on the mound in the top of the eighth, allowing Hartford to rally and tie the score at 9-9. McGorty would make amends in the bottom of the inning, as he laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, moving the winning run to third, and ended up reaching on a throwing error by Hawks pitcher John Manning (0-1). Tyler Brock followed with an RBI single up the middle, which would prove to be the game-winner. Dan Romano gave Marist some insurance runs, driving in McGorty and Brock with a pinch-hit triple, and scoring the final run on a sacrifice fly by Eric Johnson.
The Hawks struck first, scoring a run in the first, before Marist tallied a run in their first at-bat and another to take a 2-1 lead after two innings. The Hawks scored one in the third, but gave up three to the Red Foxes in the fourth. Two Hartford runs in the top of the fifth made the score 5-4, but the Red Foxes scored two in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 9-4 lead, and a scoreless seventh set up the eighth inning events.
George Heath faced two batters in relief of McGorty, and got Brian Eck to ground into an inning ending double play in the eighth. Heath improved to 2-2 with the win, while Chris Homer tossed a perfect ninth-inning, striking out two batters to seal the win.
Keith Brachold went 3-5 on the day for the Red Foxes, with two runs scored, while Johnson drove in two runs and scored a run of his own, despite an 0-3 afternoon. Brock finished the game 304 with three runs scored and an RBI, and McGorty also scored three runs, going 1-3, for the Red Foxes.
Eck provided two hits for Hartford to go along with two RBI, while Keith Mirante finished 1-2 with two RBI, as a late inning replacement. Ron Acabbo had three RBI and went 1-2, while Ryan Cuscovitch went 3-5 for the Hawks.
Marist pitching struck out 17 Hartford batters on the afternoon, led by 11 from Ryan Kondratowicz, who started and went 5.0 innings. Travis Timmons struck out three in his 2.0 innings and McGorty retired one batter via strikeout.
The Red Foxes return to action on Thursday, April 3rd, when they travel to Central Connecticut State University. Marist returns home for a three-game set against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe Rider, Saturday and Sunday, April 5-6th.
