April 13, 2009
Box Score
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Marist junior right-hander B.J. Martin (Manalapan, N.J.) struck out 19 and took a shutout into the ninth inning as the Marist baseball team earned a crucial 4-2 victory over Rider in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at McCann Baseball Field. With the win, the Red Foxes moved into a tie for second place in the MAAC as they took two out of three from the Broncs in the weekend series.
Martin struck out the side in the first, second and eighth innings. Fourteen of his strikeouts were swinging, and five were looking. He allowed just five hits, two runs and four walks.
The Red Foxes took a 4-0 lead into the ninth. Martin struck out Rider left fielder Maurice Williams for the first out and his 18th strikeout of the game, but he then issued a walk to third baseman Mason Heyne and allowed a single to first baseman Mike McCollum. Martin then struck out shortstop John Ralston for the second out and his 19th strikeout of the contest. A single by designated hitter Steve Galella then loaded the bases, and center fielder Brandon Cotton then walked to force in a run.
With Rider having cut the Marist lead to 4-1, Martin was replaced by senior closer Jacob Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.). Wiley walked right fielder James Hayes to force in a run to make the score 4-2, but he bounced back to strike out pinch-hitter Nick Wojnowski to end the game.
The Red Foxes had built their lead by scoring three times in the second and once in the sixth. With two outs in the second, freshman designated hitter Andrew Stanton (Delmar, N.Y.) was then hit by a pitch. Senior right fielder Kyle Meyer (East Greenbush, N.Y.) then tripled to the gap in left-center to bring home both Luderer and Stanton. Meyer himself would score on a wild pitch to put Marist up 3-0.
In the sixth, junior shortstop Richard Curylo (Staten Island, N.Y.) led off with a single and was then sacrificed to second by senior left fielder Brian McDonough (Hanover, Mass.). Luderer followed with an RBI single to put the Red Foxes up 4-0. Curylo and Luderer both finished with two hits apiece.
Martin improved to 2-3 with the win, and Wiley picked up his second save of the season. For Rider, Derek Caldwell took the loss to fall to 3-3. Caldwell pitched a complete game, and allowed eight hits and zero walks while striking out five.
The Red Foxes improved to 16-15 overall with the win and 7-5 in the MAAC, while Rider fell to 14-14 overall and 6-6 in MAAC play. Marist is now tied with Niagara for second place in the conference, as the Red Foxes and Purple Eagles trail conference-leading Manhattan by two-and-a-half games.
Marist will return to action on Tuesday with a non-conference doubleheader at Brown beginning at 2 p.m. The teams will play a pair of seven-inning games, and an audio broadcast for both will be available on GoRedFoxes.com.
