April 13, 2010
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist baseball team swept both ends of a doubleheader over visiting Ivy League opponent Brown on Tuesday afternoon at McCann Baseball Field. The Red Foxes won game one 1-0 on a walk-off single from freshman first baseman John Prano's (Oviedo, Fla.) go-ahead single in the fourth inning and solid relief work.
After sophomore center fielder Jon Schwind (Hilton, N.Y.) tripled to left-center field with one out, Orefice ripped the second pitch he saw from reliever Walter Albee past the drawn-in Bears infield. Junior left-hander Sean McKeown (Hillsborough, N.J.) worked the final 1.2 innings to pick up the win, improving to 3-1 while Brown reliever Brad Kottman took the loss, dropping to 1-3 on the year.
Freshman left-hander Dan Zlotnick (Katonah, N.Y.) started game two for the Red Foxes, earning the win after working 4.2 innings and allowing just two runs to improve his record to 4-0. Sophomore right-hander Jake Rifkin (West Deptford, N.J.) earned the save, his second of the year, after pitching the final two frames. Brown reliever Rob Wilcox took the loss for the Bears after allowing two runs in three innings of work, falling to 0-3 on the season.
In game one, both team's pitchers managed to keep the game hitless into the bottom of the sixth, when Marist finally broke through Prano's clean single. The Bears didn't pick up a hit until Nick Punal's line-drive single to center with one out in the seventh off McKeown. Schwind made a great diving effort on the play and barely missed coming up with the ball.
Marist junior right-hander Brendan Chapin (South Weymouth, Mass.), making just his second start of the season, worked the first five innings and didn't allow a hit, striking out three and walking three. Freshman right-hander Chris Bielak (Sayreville, N.J.), who would throw a third of an inning in each end of the doubleheader, recorded the first out of the sixth inning before giving way to McKeown.
The Bears' Conor Burke, pitching for the first time this season, pitched the first three innings without allowing a hit. Kottman worked the next 3.1 innings, allowing three hits, before Albee was brought in to face Orefice.
The two team's offenses were slightly more effective in game two. Marist took an early 1-0 lead in the first on Ricky Pacione's (Newburgh, N.Y.) sacrifice fly. After being held with just one hit in game one, the Bears racked up four hits against Zlotnick the first two innings to jump out to a 2-1 lead in the top of the second. The Red Foxes answered in the bottom of the third on red-shirt junior Bryce Nugent's (Binghamton, N.Y.) RBI single before taking the lead for good on Prano's hit.
Prano capped his day with an excellent defensive play in the top of the seventh of game two. With two runners on and clinging to a one-run lead, the second baseman ranged into shallow center to cut off what seemed to be a game-tying single by the Bears' Pete Greskoff, using a spin and a jump-throw to nail Greskoff at first and preserve the 3-2 win.
With the sweep, Marist improved to 19-11 on the season overall and remained at 7-2 in the MAAC. The two losses dropped Brown to 9-19 overall while remaining 6-2 in the Ivy League.
The Red Foxes return to action tomorrow, Wednesday, April 13 against Albany at McCann Baseball Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
