April 25, 2011
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The Marist baseball team won both ends of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) doubleheader at Saint Peter's on Monday at Jaroschak Field. The Red Foxes won the first game 14-7, and prevailed in the second game 7-1.
The Red Foxes notched 28 hits in both games combined. Senior left fielder Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.) went 4-for-7 with three runs scored and three RBIs on the day, while sophomore first baseman Mike Orefice (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) and sophomore shortstop Zach Shank (Lititz, Pa.) each went 4-for-8. Orefice scored five runs and drove in two, while Shank had four runs scored and four RBIs.
Marist scored runs in bunches in the first game, plating two in the first, three in the second, three in the fifth, four in the sixth and two in the seventh. Six Red Foxes - Pacione, Orefice, Shank, junior third baseman Jon Schwind (Hilton, N.Y.), senior center fielder Michael Gallic (Tolland, Conn.) and freshman right fielder Pat Welsh (Millersville, Pa.) - had two hits apiece as the Red Foxes totaled 15 in the contest. Orefice went 2-for-4 with four runs scored, and Gallic went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a run scored. Shank drove in three runs and scored two, and Welsh belted a three-run homer in the fifth inning.
Red-shirt junior lefty Kyle Putnam (New Windsor, N.Y.) finished by tossing a scoreless ninth.
Saint Peter's starter Zach Hopf, who went five-plus innings, took the loss for the Peacocks and fell to 3-6. Alberto Mejia, Ariel Ramirez and Preston Aldridge each drove in two runs apiece for Saint Peter's.
In game two, junior designated hitter Eric Helmrich (Yonkers, N.Y.) led the Marist offense by going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a solo home run. Four more Red Foxes - Orefice, Pacione, Shank and freshman center fielder Jake Berry (South Hamilton, Mass.) - had two hits apiece as the Red Foxes outhit the Peacocks, 13-6.
Marist started the scoring with two in the first after the first two batters of the inning were retired. Red-shirt senior catcher Bryce Nugent (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Helmrich had back-to-back RBI singles which brought home Pacione and Shank, respectively. The Red Foxes then added four in the fourth after having two outs and no one on base. Orefice had a two-run single in the inning, which was followed by RBI singles from Pacione and Shank.
After Saint Peter's catcher Russ Stupienski homered in the bottom of the fourth to cut Marist's lead to 6-1, Helmrich homered to lead off the top of the fifth and close out the scoring.
Making his first start of the season, Marist red-shirt senior right-hander Eric Alessio (Nyack, N.Y.) tossed 5.1 effective innings to improve his record to 2-1. Alessio allowed just five hits, one run and one walk while recording three strikeouts. Junior right-hander Jake Rifkin (West Deptford, N.J.) got the final five outs, including a strikeout, to close the game. Saint Peter's starter Dom Macaluso (3-6), who went the first five innings, took the loss.
Marist improved to 25-12 overall and 6-8 in MAAC play; Saint Peter's is now 11-23 overall and 2-8 in the MAAC. The Red Foxes and Peacocks close out their three-game series on Tuesday, with a single game at Jaroschak Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
