BEAUMONT, Texas – The Marist baseball team split its two games at the Cardinal Classic on Saturday, hosted by Lamar. The Red Foxes lost 10-7 to Illinois-Chicago in their first game, but rebounded to defeat Lamar 4-3 in game two for their first win of the season.

Game One

The top four hitters in Marist's lineup – sophomore Graham McIntire (Concord, N.H.), left fielder Matt Pagano (Cranston, R.I.), senior Nick McQuail (Wantagh, N.Y.) and junior Steve Laurino (Carle Place, N.Y.) – combined to go 10-for-15 with six runs scored and three RBIs. McIntire and Pagano both had three hits, and McIntire scored three runs. Senior Zachary Passerelle (Sparta, N.J.) drove in three runs.

Illnois-Chicago led 10-4 through six innings. Marist fought back with a run in the seventh and two in the ninth, in which the Red Foxes were able to put the tying run on first base with one out.

John Coen and Conor Philbin led the Flames' offensive attack with three hits apiece. Ian Lewandowski pitched six innings to earn the win, and Mitchell Schulewitz induced a game-ending double play to pick up the save.

Marist starter Evan Davis (Little Falls, N.Y.), who pitched the first 4.1 innings, took the loss.

Game Two

Marist's youth was largely responsible for its win of the season.

Freshman right-hander Scott Boches (Featerville, Pa.) went the first six innings, and allowed just four hits with six strikeouts. Freshman right-hander Sean Keenan (Dayton, N.J.) followed with 1.1 innings of relief to earn his first collegiate win, and freshman right-hander Ryan Thomas (Ringoes, N.J.) escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth to get the final five outs and earn his first collegiate save. Offensively, freshman Jamari Moore (Marietta, Ga.) went 2-for-5 and scored Marist's first run in the fifth inning.

The Red Foxes trailed 2-1 entering the eighth. Pagano led off the inning with an infield single, and went to second on a throwing error. He then advanced to third on a groundout by McQuail, and scored on a fielder's choice by Laurino to tie the game. McIntire then doubled home Laurino with the go-ahead run. Passerelle followed with an RBI single to make the score 4-2.

Lamar brought home a run in the eighth, but Thomas recorded a bases-loaded strikeout to keep Marist's lead at 4-2. Thomas then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

Lamar's Wayne Stanley went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Danny Fernandez, who pitched 2.1 innings of relief, took the loss.

Saturday's games concluded play in the Cardinal Classic for Marist, which returns home with a record of 1-3. The Red Foxes return to action next weekend with a four-game series at Longwood.