April 7, 2010
Box Score
WORCESTER, Mass. -- Fueled by a prolific first inning in which the first nine guys to the plate all reached safely, the Marist baseball team earned a 12-10 win at Holy Cross in a non-conference game on Wednesday. The Red Foxes scored six in the first and led 8-0 after one-and-a-half innings as they won their fourth straight.
Junior left fielder Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.) went 2-for-4 with four runs scored. Junior designated hitter Michael Gallic (Tolland, Conn.) went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Sophomore second baseman Jon Schwind (Hilton, N.Y.) and freshman first baseman Mike Orefice (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) also had three runs batted in apiece.
Four of the Red Foxes who reached safely in the first were hit by pitches. Senior shortstop Richard Curylo (Staten Island, N.Y.) led off by getting hit by a pitch. Senior right fielder Ryan Gauck (Clifton Park, N.Y.) followed with a single, sending Curylo to second. Pacione and Gallic were then hit by pitches, with the latter forcing in Curylo to give the Red Foxes a 1-0 lead. Schwind followed with a bases-clearing double to make the score 4-0. After Orefice and freshman center fielder Dan Zlotnick (Katonah, N.Y.) drew consecutive walks to load the bases, sophomore catcher Ben Luderer (River Vale, N.J.) was hit by a pitch to force home Schwind and make the score 5-0. Freshman third baseman Zach Shank (Lititz, Pa.) then singled up the middle to score Orefice, giving Marist its sixth run of the inning.
Marist then added two runs in the second. Pacione started the inning with a single, and Gallic reached on an error to put runners on first and second. A double steal moved Pacione to third and Gallic to second. A wild pitch enabled Pacione to score while moving Gallic to third, and Gallic came home on a sacrifice fly by Orefice to make the score 8-0.
Holy Cross scored twice in the second, but Marist answered with two in the fourth to go up 10-2. Pacione again started the rally, this time with a double. He moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Gallic, who then advanced to third on a fly out by Schwind and scored on a double by Orefice.
Marist made it 11-2 in the fifth when Gauck doubled and scored on a two-out single by Gallic. Holy Cross cut into the Red Foxes' lead with one run in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh, but Marist closed out its scoring in the eighth. Pacione led off the eighth with a walk, moved to second on a walk by Gallic, went to third on a sacrifice by Schwind and came home on a sacrifice fly by Orefice.
Trailing 12-6 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Holy Cross scored four runs to make it 12-10 and brought the tying run to the plate. Freshman right-hander Chris Bielak (Sayreville, N.J.) came in at that point, and struck out the only batter he faced to end the game. The save was the first of his career.
Bielak was the last of six Marist pitchers on the day. The first, junior right-hander Brendan Chapin (South Weymouth, Mass.) earned the victory to improve to 2-3. Holy Cross starter Vaughn Hayward took the loss and fell to 1-4.
Marist improved to 15-10; Holy Cross fell to 11-12. The Red Foxes have won six of their last seven, and 12 of their last 15.
The Red Foxes will return to action on Saturday, when they begin a three-game series with Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rival Siena. The teams will play a doubleheader at McCann Baseball Field on Saturday, followed by a single game on Sunday. First pitch on both days is scheduled for noon.
