Box Score SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Marist baseball team suffered a 12-10 loss at Wofford in 10 innings on Sunday. The Red Foxes had captured the first two games of the weekend series.
Sophomore Matt Pagano (Cranston, R.I.) was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Senior Zachary Passerelle (Sparta, N.J.) and Pat Welsh (Millersville, Pa.) each had two hits, and sophomore Joey Aiola (Suffern, N.Y.) belted his first career home run. The Red Foxes also reached base via hit batsmen seven times, including three by senior Nick McQuail (Wantagh, N.Y.).
Wofford tallied six runs in its first at-bat, but Marist fought back with four runs in the top of the second, which included a two-run homer by Aiola. Wofford then extended its lead to 9-4 with a run in the third and two in the fourth. In the fifth, an RBI double by Pagano and sacrifice fly by freshman Tyler Kirkpatrick (Eagleville, Pa.) cut Marist's deficit to 9-6, and an RBI double by McQuail the following inning made it a two-run game.
Wofford added a run in the sixth to take a three-run lead, and the score remained 10-7 until the top of the ninth. Marist then tied the game in that frame by batting around and scoring three runs without the benefit of a hit. With one out, five consecutive Red Foxes drew walks to make the score 10-9. Then, with two outs, McQuail was hit by a pitch to force home the tying run.
In the bottom of the 10th, Dylan May's two-run homer with one out lifted Wofford to the 12-10 win.
For Wofford (9-6), Jordan Accetta got the final two outs of the 10th to earn the victory and improve to 1-0. May paced the Terriers offensively by going 2-for-5 with four RBIs.
Freshman right-hander Ryan Thomas (Ringoes, N.J.), who came on in the eighth, took the loss for Marist (4-10) and is now 0-3. The Red Foxes received a scoreless inning of relief apiece from right-handers Sean Keenan (Dayton, N.J.) and Dustin Tuck (Ocala, Fla.). Tuck struck out two and did not allow a runner in his first appearance as a Red Fox.
Marist will return to action on Tuesday, March 18, when the Red Foxes travel to Albany for a single game at 3 p.m.
