BUIES CREEK, N.C. - The Marist baseball team suffered a 10-3 loss to Campbell in the season opener on Friday for both teams. Junior first baseman Mike Orefice (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) drove in all three of the Red Foxes' runs on a bases-clearing double in the sixth inning.
Campbell had jumped out to a 6-0 lead by scoring once in the first, three times in the third and twice in the fifth. Marist red-shirt sophomore center fielder Mark Stuckey (Marietta, Pa.) led off the sixth with a walk, and advanced to second on a one-out single by freshman second baseman Alec Petrone (Mahopac, N.Y.). The Red Foxes kept the inning alive when junior shortstop Zach Shank (Lititz, Pa.) reached on a two-out error, and Orefice followed with his double to cut Campbell's lead in half.
Campbell responded by scoring four runs in its half of the seventh, aided by three Marist errors.
The Red Foxes were outhit 15-3 in the contest. Besides Petrone's and Orefice's hits in the sixth inning, the only other Marist hit was a single by senior left fielder Eric Helmrich (Yonkers, N.Y.) in the second.
Red-shirt senior left-hander Chad Gallagher (Southboro, Mass.) took the loss for Marist. Gallagher started and went the first six innings, allowing six runs and 11 hits. He did not walk a batter, and recorded four strikeouts. Freshman right-hander Evan Davis (Little Falls, N.Y.) relieved Gallagher and tossed the final two innings. Davis allowed four runs in the seventh, three of which were unearned, before bouncing back to pitch a 1-2-3 eighth inning which included two strikeouts.
Campbell's five, six and seven hitters - second baseman Michael Felton, designated hitter Josh Holskey and third baseman Kyle Holmstrom - each had three hits apiece. Felton had a two-run homer in the third. Starter Matt Serget pitched the first six innings to earn the victory, and Logan Self followed with three hitless frames to pick up the save.
Marist and Campbell will conclude their three-game series on Saturday when the teams meet for a doubleheader. Game one is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
