March 25, 2009

Box Score

ALBANY, N.Y. - The Marist baseball team won its fourth consecutive game on Wednesday, earning a 9-2 win at Albany in a non-conference game. Six Marist pitchers combined to allow just four hits, while freshman shortstop Jon Schwind (Hilton, N.Y.) drove in four runs as the Red Foxes improved to 10-8 on the season.

Sophomore left-hander Sean McKeown (Hillborough, N.J.) started and went the first four innings to earn the victory, improving to 1-0 on the season, McKeown allowed just two hits, two walks and one run in four innings while striking out three. Junior right-hander Richard Cary (Binghamton, N.Y.) pitched a 1-2-3 fifth, senior left-hander Peter Barone (Hauppauge, N.Y.) tossed a scoreless sixth and junior right-hander Eric Alessio (Nyack, N.Y.) followed with a perfect seventh. Freshman right-hander Jacob Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) closed the game with a three up, three down ninth. The Red Foxes held Albany without hit from the third inning through the seventh.

Schwind led off the game with a single following a nine-pitch at-bat, and scored the first run of the game three batters later on an RBI double by Ryan Gauck (Clifton Park, N.Y.). A sacrifice fly by senior left fielder Brian McDonough (Hanover, Mass.) drove home sophomore third baseman Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.) to make the score 2-0. Gauck then scored on a balk to give the Red Foxes an early 3-0 lead.

With Marist holding a 3-1 lead in the sixth, McDonough and red-shirt sophomore catcher Bryce Nugent (Binghamton, N.Y.) led off the inning by drawing consecutive walks. Both moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt by red-shirt senior Kenny Anderson (Randolph, N.J.). Pinch-hitter George Agostini (Rehoboth, Mass.) followed with an RBI single to put Marist up 4-1, and Schwind added a two-run double two batters later to give the Red Foxes a 6-1 advantage.

Schwind added a two-run single in the seventh to put Marist up 8-1. After Albany scored in the eighth to make it 8-2, the Red Foxes closed out the scoring in the ninth when a single by senior right fielder Kyle Meyer (East Greenbush, N.Y.) drove home sophomore center fielder Michael Gallic (Tolland, Conn.).

Gallic and Schwind each went 3-for-5.

Marist will return to action on Saturday, when the Red Foxes start a three-game series with Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rival Canisius in Buffalo. The Golden Griffins are last year's MAAC regular-season champions and this year's preseason favorite to win the conference. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon, followed by a single game on Sunday at noon.