May 1, 2011
Box Score
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist men's baseball team completed a sweep of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe Niagara with a 7-3 victory on Sunday afternoon at McCann Baseball Field.
The Red Foxes were paced by the weekend's third strong pitching performance, this time from senior left-hander Sean McKeown (Hillsborough, N.J.), who gave up one run in seven innings while striking out three and walking none. He improved to 5-1 on the season.
After McKeown's exit, senior right-hander Brendan Chapin (South Weymouth, Mass.) struck out three hitters in a row to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam with a two-run lead in the eighth. Chapin recorded four of his six outs via the strikeout to earn his third save of the season.
Offensively, Marist was led by senior center fielder Michael Gallic (Tolland, N.Y.), who went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored, and homered for the second time in the series. Junior third baseman Jon Schwind (Hilton, N.Y.) and senior catcher Ricky Pacione (Newburgh, N.Y.) also had two hits for Marist.
The Red Foxes cracked the scoreboard in the first inning when sophomore shortstop Zach Shank (Lititz, Pa.) cranked a double, which scored sophomore first baseman Mike Orefice (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.). After a scoreless second and third inning, Niagara knotted the score in the top-half of the fourth inning when a John Wilson sac fly scored Eric Hink. The Red Foxes regained the lead in the fifth inning when a Pacione sacrifice fly scored Schwind.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead into the top of the seventh inning with no outs and a runner on third, McKeown forced a foul out from Thomas Rodrigues and struck out Wynton Bernard. With two outs, freshman second Nick McQuail (Wantagh, N.Y.) made a diving catch on a line drive off the bat of Cam Stykemain to end the threat. Pacione singled with one out in the bottom half of the inning, and Gallic followed with a two-run homer, giving Marist a more comfortable 4-1 advantage.
In the eighth inning, junior right-hander Jake Rifkin (West Deptford, N.J.) replaced McKeown. After an RBI single by Wilson cut the Red Foxes' lead to 4-2, Chapin replaced Rifkin with the bases loaded, and proceeded to strike out the first three batters he faced.
In the bottom half of the inning, Marist tacked on three more runs, two of which came on an RBI single from Gallic. After a sacrifice fly by Orefice scored McQuail, Gallic's RBI single scored Schwind and freshman right fielder Pat Welsh (Millersville, Pa.).
Marist improved to 29-13 overall and 9-9 in the MAAC. Niagara, which dropped to 6-33 overall and 3-15 in the conference, was led by Adam Wagner, who went 4-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI.
The Red Foxes will return to action on Tuesday in Providence, R.I., where they will take on Brown in a twinbill. First pitch of game one is slated for 2 p.m.
