May 23, 2009
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
TRENTON, N.J. -- The Marist baseball team won the 2009 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Championship on Saturday at Waterfront Park with a 13-9 victory over Canisius in a winner-take-all game. Senior closer Jacob Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after earning a save and two wins this weekend.
Wiley was the winning pitcher in both Marist's first-round win over Canisius and winners' bracket final against Manhattan on Friday. In the championship game victory over Canisius, Wiley came out of the bullpen to record the final four outs and earn his sixth save of the year.
Four Red Foxes were named to the MAAC All-Tournament Team: Junior shortstop Richard Curylo (Staten Island, N.Y.), senior left fielder Brian McDonough (Hanover, Mass.), senior right fielder Kyle Meyer (East Greenbush, N.Y.) and red-shirt sophomore catcher Bryce Nugent (Binghamton, N.Y.).
In the first game of the day, the Red Foxes suffered a 5-4 loss to the Golden Griffins, forcing the second and deciding game.
In game one, the Red Foxes scored in a run without the benefit of a hit in the top of the first. Curylo drew a four-pitch walk and scored the first run of the game in an inning that featured three walks and an RBI fielder's choice by McDonough. Marist extended the lead to 2-0 in the fifth when junior first baseman Ryan Gauck (Clifton Park, N.Y.) drew a bases-loaded walk. Canisius, however, tied the game in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run homer to right field by shortstop Steve McQuail.
Marist then re-claimed a two-run lead in its next at-bat. After a single by junior second baseman John Prano (Oviedo, Fla.) and a bunt single by Meyer, freshman center fielder Jon Schwind (Hilton, N.Y.) walked to load the bases. A sacrifice fly by sophomore third baseman Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.) scored Prano put Marist up 3-2, and Nugent followed with an RBI single to score Meyer and give the Red Foxes a 4-2 lead.
The score remained 4-2 until the bottom of the eighth, when the Golden Griffins loaded the bases for first baseman Brian Burton, who slammed a bases-clearing triple to center field which cleared the bases and put Canisius in the lead for the first time in the game at 5-4. Alex MacKenzie came in to get the final three outs as the Golden Griffins held on for the victory.
Matt Weber, who pitched 3.2 innings of relief, earned the victory for Canisius. Sophomore right-hander Kyle Putnam (New Windsor, N.Y.) took the loss, falling to 4-4 as he was charged with all five Canisius runs in 7.1 innings of work, which tied a career high. The Red Foxes drew nine walks in the game, but managed just five hits.
Canisius jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one-and-a-half innings of the second inning. The Red Foxes cut the deficit in the bottom of the second when McDonough singled to lead off, and was driven home on an RBI single by red-shirt senior designated hitter Kenny Anderson (Randolph, N.J.). An RBI double by McDonough in the third scored Curylo and cut Canisius' lead to 3-2.
The Red Foxes took the lead for good in the fourth, scoring six runs against four Canisius pitchers. Meyer was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie the score at 3-3, and Curylo drew a bases-loaded walk to put Marist up 4-3. Schwind then drew a bases-loaded walk to give Marist a 5-3 advantage before McDonough cleared the bases with a three-run double, enabling the Red Foxes to take an 8-3 lead. Canisius scored once in the fifth, but RBI singles by Meyer and Curylo gave Marist a 10-4 lead after five.
The Golden Griffins scored twice in the sixth, but the Red Foxes ran their lead to 12-6 in the seventh on an RBI single by Curylo and an RBI double by Schwind. The Golden Griffins cut Marist's lead in half with a three-run eighth, but Wiley stopped the rally by inducing a one-pitch groundout with the tying run in the on-deck circle.
Marist added an insurance run in the eighth when McDonough led off with a single - his fourth hit of the game - and scored on a wild pitch to put Marist up 13-9. Wiley allowed just a leadoff single in the ninth before earning his sixth save of the season.
Sophomore left-hander Sean McKeown (Hillsborough, N.J.) was credited with the game two victory. McKeown pitched three-plus innings of relief, holding Canisius without a hit or a walk in the second, third and fourth innings. McKeown improved to 3-3 on the season.
The Red Foxes pounded out 16 hits in the contest. McDonough went 4-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored in the deciding game, and Curylo went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Gauck went 3-for-5. Anderson reached safely in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with two runs scored, an RBI and two walks.
The win gave the Red Foxes their first MAAC championship since 2005 and fifth in program history (2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2009). This will be the Red Foxes' sixth NCAA Tournament appearance, as they also reached the tournament in 1997. The Red Foxes won one tournament game apiece in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
