May 26, 2010
Box Score
FISHKILL, N.Y. - The Marist baseball team lost to Rider by a score of 10-7 in the opening round of the 2010 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Baseball Championships, held at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill. The Red Foxes rebounded after trailing 5-0 after a half-inning to take the lead an inning later, but five unanswered Rider runs sent the Broncs to the winners' bracket final.
Freshman first baseman Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and freshman third baseman Zach Shank (Lititz, Pa.) went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
Rider put up five runs in the top of the first and forced junior right-hander Kyle Putnam (New Windsor, N.Y.) out of the game after one-third of an inning. He was relieved by junior right-hander Brendan Chapin (South Weymouth, Mass.), who went the next five innings and allowed four runs, with just one being earned. Freshman right-hander Brett Houseal (Hempfield, Pa.) went the final 3.2 innings, and allowed just two hits, one run and one walk. He struck out four.
Marist got a run back in the bottom of the first, and then erupted for five in the second to take a 6-5 lead. Senior second baseman John Prano (Oviedo, Fla.) drew a bases-loaded walk to force home junior right fielder Michael Gallic (Tolland, Conn.) and make the score 5-2. A bases-clearing double by Orefice tied the score at five apiece, and Pacione followed with a single to drive in Orefice as the Red Foxes took the lead.
The score remained 6-5 Marist until the fifth, when Rider left fielder Nick Wojnowski led off with a solo home run to tie the game. Center fielder Brandon Cotton added a two-out, two-run single to give the Broncs the lead for good. Rider added a run in the sixth, and Wojnowski hit another solo homer in the eighth to give the Broncs a 10-6 lead.
Marist added a run in the eighth when Shank's single drove in Gallic. The Red Foxes brought the tying run to the plate, but Rider closer Tyler Smith came in to get the final two outs of the inning. Smith then pitched a scoreless ninth for his eighth save of the year.
Mike Thomas started for Rider pitched the 7.1 innings to earn the victory, as he improved to 9-2. Chapin took the loss to fall for 6-5.
Rider improved to 34-21; Marist fell to 33-21.
The Red Foxes will play Manhattan in a losers' bracket game on Thursday at 3 p.m. The winner advances to the losers' bracket final on Friday; the loser will have its season come to an end. Marist defeated Manhattan in two of the three meetings between the teams in the regular season.
