Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Marist baseball team had its season come to an end on Sunday with a 9-5 loss at Fairfield in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game on Sunday.
Freshman designated hitter Tyler Kirkpatrick (Eagleville, Pa.) reached safely in his first five plate appearances of the day. Kirkpatrick finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a walk and a hit by pitch. Senior left fielder Jake Berry (South Hamilton, Mass.) came off the bench to go 2-for-2, including a pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh inning. Junior first baseman Steve Laurino (Carle Place, N.Y.) went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Marist outhit Fairfield, 13-10, but left 15 on base. With two outs and no one on base in the ninth, consecutive singles by Berry, freshman third baseman Ben Moller (Warrington, Pa.) and senior shortstop Nick McQuail (Wantagh, N.Y.) brought the tying run to the plate. However, Marist left the bases loaded.
An RBI fielder's choice by senior catcher Zachary Passerelle (Sparta, N.J.), which brought in Kirkpatrick, gave Marist a 1-0 lead in the first inning. However, Fairfield answered with three runs in the first, three in the second and one in the third. In the fifth, an RBI double by sophomore center fielder Graham McIntire (Concord, N.H.) brought home Kirkpatrick, but Fairfield answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to maintain its six-run lead at 8-2. Fairfield added a run on a double play in the sixth to go up 9-2. Berry's pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh made the score 9-3. Marist scored its final two runs in the eighth on an RBI single by Laurino, followed by an RBI fielder's choice from senior right fielder Pat Welsh (Millersville, Pa.).
For Fairfield, center fielder Alex Witkus went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Left fielder Jake Salpietro had a two-run double in the first, and third baseman Dean Sadik had a two-run single in the second.
Kyle Dube (2-1), the first of seven Fairfield pitchers, earned the win. For Marist, senior left-hander Jordan Eich (Spencerport, N.Y.) took the loss which dropped his record to 3-6. Freshman right-hander Sean Keenan (Dayton, N.J.) allowed one earned run over three innings of relief, and freshman right-hander Ryan Thomas (Ringoes, N.J.) didn't allow a hit or a run over the final three innings.
Marist's season ends at 17-32 overall and 10-14 in the MAAC; Fairfield finished the regular season at 30-22 overall and 15-8 in conference. With the loss, Manhattan earned the final spot in next week's MAAC Baseball Championships.
Sunday's game marked the final one for the six members of Marist's senior class – Berry, Eich, McQuail, Passerelle, Welsh and senior right-hander Chris Thorsen (Lititz, Pa.). McQuail played in his 200th collegiate game on Sunday. He was in the starting lineup for all of them.
