April 26, 2009
Box Score
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Senior center fielder Kyle Meyer (East Greensbush, N.Y.) hit two home runs and drove in eight as the Marist baseball team coasted to a 16-5 victory over Siena in the rubber game a three-game Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference series on Sunday at Siena Field. Meyer blasted a three-run homer in the third and a grand slam in the fourth.
The Red Foxes pounded out 20 hits in the contest. Meyer went 4-for-4, red-shirt sophomore catcher Bryce Nugent (Binghamton, N.Y.) went 4-for-5 with a home run and three runs scored and senior right fielder Brian McDonough (Hanover, Mass.) went 4-for-6 with four runs scored. Junior left fielder Ryan Gauck (Clifton Park, N.Y.) went 2-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored, and freshman third baseman George Agostini (Rehoboth, Mass.) was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Marist scored in five consecutive innings, plating four runs in the second, five in the third, five in the fourth, one in the fifth and one in the sixth.
In the second, Nugent led off with an in field single, and McDonough followed with a double off the left-field wall, which moved Nugent to third. Agostini then laced a two-run double to right to get the Red Foxes on the scoreboard. Gauck and Meyer added RBI singles to put Marist up 4-0.
Juan Amador led off the bottom of the second with a home run to cut Marist's lead to 4-1, but Nugent homered to lead off the top of the third to put Marist back up by four. McDonough and Agostini then singled, and a sacrifice fly by Gauck put the Red Foxes up 6-1. After red-shirt senior first baseman Kenny Anderson (Randolph, N.J.) was hit by a pitch, Meyer belted a three-run homer to give the Red Foxes a 9-1 advantage.
Nugent and McDonough started the fourth with back-to-back singles, and Agostini drew a walk to load the bases. Gauck then reached on a fielder's choice, which brought home Nugent and put Marist up 10-1. After Anderson walked to load the bases, Meyer hit his second home run in as many innings, a grand slam over the left-field wall to give the Red Foxes a 14-1 lead.
The Red Foxes added a run in the fifth on an RBI single by Gauck, which scored McDonough. Marist's 16th run came an inning later when sophomore second baseman Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.) reached on an infield single and later came around to score on a wild pitch.
Junior right-hander B.J. Martin (Manalapan, N.J.) won his third consecutive start, as he improved his record to 4-3. Martin allowed six hits and three runs, two of which were earned. He walked three and struck out three.
Marist now stands at 22-19 overall and 9-6 in the MAAC. Siena fell to 10-31 overall and 6-12 in the MAAC.
The Red Foxes will return to action on Tuesday, when they travel to Binghamton in a non-conference game at 3 p.m. The teams met on April 1 in Poughkeepsie, with Pacione hitting a two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Red Foxes a 5-4 victory. Marist will then face Army in the 2009 WPDH Hudson Valley Baseball Classic at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The team will return to conference play next weekend at Saint Peter's with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon and a single game on Sunday, which will also start at noon.
Notes: Meyer finished the series by batting .800 (8-for-10) with 12 runs batted in. He has now hit safely in eight consecutive games. ... Pacione extended his hitting streak to 13 games. ... The Red Foxes have won four of their five conference series to date, with the only loss coming when they were swept at Manhattan.
