May 9, 2010
Box Score
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - Senior designated hitter Ryan Gauck (Clifton Park, N.Y.) went 5-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored to lead the Marist baseball team to an 11-8 win at Rider in the finale of a three-game Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) series on Sunday.
It was the second 5-for-5 performance Gauck had in as many days against Rider, and he hit .786 (11-for-14) in the series. The Red Foxes took the final game of the series after dropping both ends of Saturday's doubleheader to the Broncs, and now sit in second place in the MAAC with an 11-7 record.
The Red Foxes started the scoring with four runs in their half of the third. Red-shirt junior catcher Bryce Nugent (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Gauck each had two-run doubles in the frame. The Red Foxes made it 5-0 in the fourth when freshman first baseman Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.), and scored on a single by junior right fielder Jon Schwind (Hilton, N.Y.). In the fifth, Gauck led off the inning with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman third baseman John Prano (Oviedo, Fla.) to put the Red Foxes up 6-0.
Rider closed the gap to 6-5 with a five-run rally in the fifth, which was punctuated by a grand slam off the bat of second baseman A.J. Albee. The Broncs then took a 7-6 lead with a pair of runs in the sixth.
However, the Red Foxes took back the lead with a pair of runs in the seventh. Junior center fielder Michael Gallic (Tolland, Conn.) tripled to center with one out, and scored on an RBI single by Gauck. With two outs and the bases loaded, Orefice drew a walk to force home Gauck and put the Red Foxes up 8-7.
With two outs in the eighth and Nugent on second and Gauck on first, Shank tripled down the left field line to score both, and then Shank himself scored on an error on the play, which put Marist up 11-7.
Rider scored once in the eighth to make it 11-8, and had runners on first and second in the ninth with two outs. But Marist junior left-hander Sean McKeown (Hillsborough, N.J.) came in to get the game's final out, as he struck out catcher Eric Woodrow looking. The save was McKeown's sixth of the season.
Red-shirt sophomore left-hander Brendan Chapin (South Weymouth, Mass.) earned the win in relief as he allowed just one unearned run in 3.1 innings. Chapin struck out three and improved to 5-4 on the season. Jeff Giordano (1-1) took the loss in relief for Rider.
The Red Foxes outhit the Broncs 19-11, and every Marist starter had at least one hit. Gallic finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while Orefice, Schwind, Nugent and Prano all hit two hits apiece.
Marist is now 28-19 overall; Rider is 26-20 overall and 12-9 in the MAAC, which puts the Broncs in third place.
The Red Foxes will return to action Saturday and Sunday with a three-game home series against Canisius, which leads the conference with a 16-2 mark. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon, followed by a single game Sunday at noon.
