FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Marist baseball team suffered a 1-0 loss at Fairfield in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game on Thursday. The loss eliminated the Red Foxes from MAAC Tournament contention, as the Stags clinched the final berth remaining with the victory.
Fairfield scored the game's lone run in the fifth. With one out and the bases loaded, Dean Sadik scored on a fielder's choice, as Anthony Hajjar reached on an infield error and was credited with the RBI. However, the Red Foxes escaped the inning with any further damage as Ryan Plourde followed with a fly ball to left field, which senior Eric Helmrich (Yonkers, N.Y.) caught and fired home to freshman Mark Swertfager (Katonah, N.Y.) to cut down a runner at the plate.
Fairfield outhit Marist, 7-5. The Red Foxes loaded the bases in the second, and also had runners in scoring position in the fifth, seventh and ninth. Marist's hits came off the bats of Helmrich, Swertfager, junior designated hitter Dan Zlotnick (Katonah, N.Y.), sophomore right fielder Jake Berry (South Hamilton, Mass.) and freshman second baseman Alec Petrone (Mahopac, N.Y.). Zlotnick had a second-inning double.
Junior right-hander Brett Houseal (Landisville, Pa.) took the hard-luck loss for the Red Foxes, as he allowed just one unearned run in 5.1 innings. He gave up six hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out two. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Houseal, who fell to 4-6. Sophomore right-hander Kevin McCarthy (Malverne, N.Y.) allowed just one hit while striking out two in 2.2 innings of relief.
Fairfield starter E.J. Ashworth earned the win with 6.2 scoreless innings. He allowed four hits and two walks while striking out seven. Kyle Capaldo earned the save by finishing with 2.1 innings of scoreless ball. He allowed just one hit and struck out one. Sadik and Larry Cornelia paced the Fairfield offense with two hits apiece.
Marist fell to 24-24 overall and 10-11 in MAAC play; Fairfield improved to 26-25 overall and 13-9 in the MAAC. The teams will close out the regular season on Friday with a doubleheader beginning at noon.
