April 11, 2009
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Behind the efforts of right-hander Kyle Putnam (New Windsor, N.Y.) and sophomore second baseman Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.), the Marist baseball team earned a split in its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference doubleheader against Rider at McCann Baseball Field on Saturday. After suffering an 8-5 loss in game one, the Red Foxes rebounded for a 6-1 triumph in game two.
Putnam tossed a complete game in the seven-inning contest to earn his first career victory. He allowed just five hits, one walk and one unearned run while striking out three. Pacione went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
In the second game, Rider scored its lone run in the top of the first without the benefit of a hit. The Broncs loaded the bases with no outs on an error, walk and hit batsman, but Putnam got out of the inning allowing just one run after inducing a double play and getting a strikeout.
The Red Foxes tied the game in the bottom of the first on an RBI single, which scored freshman center fielder Jon Schwind (Hilton, N.Y.), who had reached with a double.
Marist then broke the game open by scoring five runs in its half of the second. With one out, red-shirt sophomore catcher Bryce Nugent (Binghamton, N.Y.) hit a solo home run to right field. The Red Foxes then loaded the bases on a single to left field by red-shirt senior first baseman Kenny Anderson (Randolph, N.J.) and consecutive bunt singles by senior right fielder Kyle Meyer (East Greenbush, N.Y.) and Schwind. Junior shortstop Richard Curylo (Staten Island, N.Y.) followed with a two-run single, which scored Anderson and Meyer to give the Red Foxes a 4-1 lead. After Curylo was picked off for the second out of the inning, Pacione hit an inside-the-park home run to give Marist a 6-1 lead.
Neither team scored over the final five innings, and the Marist defense supported Putnam by turning double plays in the first three innings. The win was the first of Putnam's career.
In game one, the Red Foxes scored two runs apiece in the first two innings to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Marist pushed across its first-inning runs on three consecutive doubles by Pacione, senior left fielder Brian McDonough (Hanover, Mass.) and junior first baseman Ryan Gauck (Clifton Park, N.Y.). Marist then added two more in the second when freshman designated hitter George Agostini (Rehoboth, Mass.) singled and scored on a wild pitch, which was followed by an RBI single by Curylo.
Rider closed the gap to 4-3 on a three-run homer by catcher Sean Olson in the fifth inning. The Broncs tied the game in the seventh by stringing together three straight two-out singles, and took the lead by scoring three times in the eighth. Marist got a run back in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Curylo, but Rider added an insurance run in the ninth.
Senior left-hander Josh Rickards (Glenolden, Pa.) started game one for the Red Foxes and went six innings, allowing six hits, four walks and three runs while striking out one. Fellow senior left-hander Peter Barone (Hauppauge, N.Y.) took the loss in relief to fall to 0-1.
Marist now stands at 15-15 overall and 6-5 in the MAAC, while Rider is now 14-13 overall and 6-5 in the MAAC. The teams will conclude their three-game series on Monday, with a 3 p.m. start at McCann Baseball Field. Fans can follow all the action live on GameTracker, and via an audio broadcast on GoRedFoxes.com through Stretch Internet.
