May 21, 2009
Box Score
TRENTON, N.J. - Freshman center fielder Jon Schwind (Hilton, N.Y.) hit a two-run triple in the eighth inning to put the Marist baseball team ahead for good in its 7-6 win over Canisius in the first round of the 2009 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Championship on Thursday at Waterfront Park. The Red Foxes will now play in the winners' bracket final at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.
Marist will face top-seeded Manhattan, a 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Rider in the day second semifinal contest.
Senior closer Jacob Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) got the last seven outs to earn the victory, improving to 8-1 on the season. Wiley has been the winning pitcher in each of his last three appearances. He struck out three and did not walk a batter.
The Red Foxes never trailed in the contest, although there were three ties. With one out in the fourth, junior first baseman Ryan Gauck (Clifton Park, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch, and he advanced to third on a hit-and-run single by senior left fielder Brian McDonough (Hanover, Mass.) Red-shirt sophomore catcher Bryce Nugent (Binghamton, N.Y.) then singled to left to score Gauck and put Marist up 1-0. However, Canisius tied it in the bottom of the fourth when third baseman Kevin Mahoney walked, was sacrificed to second, and scored on a single by right fielder Shayne WIllson.
Marist then took a 3-1 lead in the fifth. Junior shortstop Richard Curylo (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the inning off with a single, and was sacrificed to second by Schwind. Junior third baseman Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.) then tripled down the left-field line to drive in Curylo, and Pacione scored himself two batters later on an RBI single by McDonough.
Canisius, however, tied the game in the sixth. Willson reached on an infield single with two outs, and designated hitter Steve McQuail followed with a long two-run homer to left field, knotting the game at three apiece.
Schwind led off the Marist seventh by getting hit by a pitch. Pacione followed with a two-run homer to left, giving the Red Foxes a 5-3 lead. However, Canisius would once again rally by scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs and no one on base, left fielder Ian Choy walked. Second baseman Kevin Mailloux then singled, and Mahoney walked to load the bases. At that point, starter Josh Rickards (Glenolden, Pa.) was removed in favor of Wiley. Canisius center fielder Branson Joseph singled on the first pitch Wiley threw to drive in Choy and Mailloux, tying the score at 5-5. Wiley, however, induced a grounder to second from Willson to end the Canisius rally.
Junior second baseman John Prano (Oviedo, Fla.) started a one-out rally in the eighth with a single, and moved up to second after senior right fielder Kyle Meyer (East Greensbush, N.Y.) reached on an error. After Curylo flew out for the second out, Schwind's triple scored Prano and Meyer to give the Red Foxes a lead they would not relinquish.
The Golden Griffins mounted one final charge in the ninth. After Wiley retired the first two batters of the inning, Mahoney singled on a 1-2 pitch. Joseph then tripled to the left-center gap, scoring Mahoney and cutting Marist's lead to 7-6. With the tying run just 90 feet away, Wiley struck out Willson to end the game.
Pacione finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. McDonough went 3-for-5, with an RBI, and Nugent was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Willson went 3-for-5 for the Golden Griffins, and Joseph went 2-for-4 with three runs driven in.
