PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Marist baseball team swept a non-conference doubleheader at Brown on Wednesday, winning a pair of seven-inning games by scores of 6-0 and 4-2.
Junior shortstop Zach Shank (Lititz, Pa.) led the Red Foxes by going 5-for-8 on the day, as he went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in game one and 3-for-4 in game two. In game one, junior first baseman Mike Orefice (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), sophomore outfielder Jake Berry (South Hamilton, Mass.) and freshman catcher Mark Brennan (Wallingford, Conn.) also had two hits apiece. Orefice drove in three runs, while Berry and Brennan each scored two. In the second game, Berry and freshman second baseman Alec Petrone (Mahopac, N.Y.) each had two RBIs.
Four Red Foxes combined for a two-hit shutout in game one. Sophomore left-hander Jordan Eich (Spencerport, N.Y.) allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out two over three innings in his first collegiate start. He earned the win to improve to 2-0. Freshman right-hander Evan Davis (Little Falls, N.Y.) followed with two scoreless innings, and then junior lefty Dan Zlotnick (Katonah, N.Y.) and senior righty Jake Rifkin (West Deptford, N.J.) finished with a scoreless frame apiece. The appearance was the 83rd of Rifkin's career, tying him with Kevin Ool for first place in program history.
In game two, freshman right-hander Brandon Dolan (Franklin Park, N.J.) earned his team-best sixth win of the season. Dolan made the start, and allowed just one hit over three innings. He struck out three and did not walk a batter. Freshman left-hander Rich Vrana (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) and sophomore right-hander Chris Thorsen (Lititz, Pa.) went the next 2.1 innings, and sophomore right-hander Kevin McCarthy (Malverne, N.Y.) earned the save by recording the final five outs, which included four strikeouts.
Game one was scoreless until the fifth inning until a two-run single by Shank, which was followed by an RBI single by Orefice. The Red Foxes tacked on three runs in the seventh on a two-run single by Orefice, and an RBI single by senior left fielder Eric Helmrich (Yonkers, N.Y.).
In game two, Petrone's two-run single in the first inning opened the scoring, and Berry added a two-run single in the fourth. Brown had single runs in the fifth and sixth, and brought the tying run to the plate in the sixth, but McCarthy shut the door by striking out the final four batters he faced.
Wes Van Boom homered in game two for Brown, which fell to 9-35.
Marist improved to 20-21. The Red Foxes have a conference by this weekend, and will take on Lafayette in a three-game series. The teams will play a doubleheader at McCann Baseball Field at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and will play a single game at Lafayette at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
