May 20, 2010
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Marist baseball team has clinched a spot in the 2010 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships. The Red Foxes swept a doubleheader at Fairfield on Thursday, winning 13-8 in game one, and earned a 12-9 victory in 10 innings in the second game. The Red Foxes can clinch the second seed in the conference tournament with a win in their regular-season finale tomorrow.
The Red Foxes pounded out a total of 34 hits, including eight homers and 13 extra-base hits. Junior left fielder Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.) went 7-for-8 with nine runs batted in and six runs scored. A switch-hitter, Pacione homered from the left side of the plate in game one, and the right side in game two. He was a double short of the cycle in the first game, and a single short of the cycle in the second game. Junior right fielder Michael Gallic (Tolland, Conn.) went 6-for-9 on the day with four RBIs, and homered in the first game. Senior shortstop Richard Curylo (Staten Island, N.Y.) homered twice in the first game and scored six runs on the day.
In game one, Marist spotted Fairfield four runs in the first inning, but a solo home run by senior first baseman Ryan Gauck (Clifton Park, N.Y.) got Marist on the scoreboard in the second. A Curylo homer and a sacrifice fly by Gallic cut the Red Foxes' deficit to 5-3 in the third. Curylo's second homer in as many at-bats made it 5-4 an inning later. Pacione's three-run homer in the seventh gave the Red Foxes their first lead of the game at 7-6, but Fairfield rallied to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning.
Marist took the lead for good with a six-run explosion in the eighth. An RBI single by freshman first baseman Jon Schwind (Hilton, N.Y.) had an RBI single and Gallic closed out the scoring with a long two-run homer to left.
Junior right-hander Brendan Chapin (South Weymouth, Mass.) pitched the final three innings out of the bullpen to earn the victory, tying for the team lead with his sixth win of the year. Chapin allowed just one earned run and struck out four as his record improved to 6-4. Junior right-hander Kyle Putnam (New Windsor, N.Y.) started and went six innings. He struck out three and walked just one.
Senior right-hander Rob Gariano (4-5) took the loss for Fairfield, giving up nine runs (eight earned) in 7.1 innings. First baseman Anthony Hajjar went 3-for-4 to pace the Fairfield offense.
In the top of the first of game two, Orefice's homer gave the Red Foxes a 1-0 lead. Fairfield struck for three in the bottom half of the inning. Marist tied the game in the top of the second when freshman second baseman Mark Stuckey (Marietta, Pa.) hit the first home run of his collegiate career, a two-run shot which tied the game at three apiece.
Fairfield took the lead back with a two-run fifth, but Pacione's three-run homer in the sixth put Marist up 6-5. The Stags then scored four in the sixth, capped by a three-run homer by second baseman Tucker Nathans, as they took a 9-6 lead into the seventh and final inning.
Schwind led off the Marist seventh on a single, and scored on a triple by Pacione, who came in himself when the throw to third went over the head of Fairfield third baseman David Dudish, and then Dudish interfered with Pacione when he headed toward the plate. With the bases loaded and one out, pinch-runner Shane Matthews (Saratoga, N.Y.) scored from third on a wild pitch to tie the game at nine apiece. However, the Red Foxes left runners at second and third and were unable to take the lead in the seventh.
Junior right-hander Sean McKeown (Hillsborough, N.J.) held the Stags scoreless in the seventh, eighth and ninth, but the score remained tied at nine until the 10th. With the bases loaded and one out in the 10th, Matthews' two-run single gave the Red Foxes the lead for good at 11-9. Gallic's RBI single gave the Red Foxes an insurance run and a 12-9 advantage. McKeown then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to secure the win in a game that last three hours, 21 minutes.
With the win, McKeown's record improved to 4-1. He pitched four scoreless innings and allowed just two hits and one walk while recording five strikeouts. With the Red Foxes having lost the designated hitter, McKeown also had the first two at-bats of his collegiate career, and laid down two successful sacrifice bunts in the ninth and 10th.
Marist now stands at 32-20 overall and 15-8 in the MAAC, as the Red Foxes now have their highest win total since the 2003 season. Fairfield is now 18-31 overall and 8-15 in the MAAC.
The Red Foxes will close out the 2010 regular season on Friday, when they finish their three-game series with the Stags. Following Fairfield's Senior Day ceremonies, first pitch is scheduled for approximately 12:15 p.m.
Marist will be no worse than the third seed in the 2010 MAAC championships. The Red Foxes will be the second seed if they defeat Fairfield on Friday. Marist will open the MAAC championships on Wednesday, May 26 at 7 p.m., against an opponent to be determined. Log on to GoRedFoxes.com for the latest updates.
