POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist baseball team is back in action at the 13^th Annual Z93 Hudson Valley Baseball Classic vs the Army West Point Black Knights on Thursday evening at Dutchess Stadium (6:35 p.m.).

WHERE WE STAND:

Marist enters the contest at 18-15 overall. The Red Foxes are coming off their third Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference series win of the season, at Iona, where they won Game 1 (4-1) but lost Game 2 (2-0) on Saturday, before winning Game 3 on Sunday (4-3) with a three run ninth inning rally.

Marist stands at 8-4 in the conference, which is good for 4th place, 2 games back from first place Quinnipiac (10-2) and one game back from second place Manhattan (9-3).
 
HUDSON VALLEY BASEBALL CLASSIC HISTORY:

Tonight marks the 13th annual Hudson Valley Baseball Classic.

The Black Knights hold a 7-5 edge in the series after winning last season 4-1 and have prevailed in the inaugural event in 2006 as well as in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

The Red Foxes were victorious in 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2015. Seven of the 12 meetings so far have been decided by three or fewer runs.
              HVBC History
Year    Winner/Score    Attendance
2006       Army, 6-1              2,619
2007       Marist, 7-6             3,016
2008       Marist, 11-2           2,375
2009       Army, 10-3            2,754
2010       Army, 4-3              2,407
2011       Marist, 15-7           2,422
2012       Marist, 6-3             1,602
2013       Army, 10-3            2,512
2014       Army, 4-2              2,076
2015       Marist 3-2              2,754
2016       Army 8-3               2,354
2017       Army 4-1               1,368
 
PREGAME FESTIVITIES:

Batting practice for both teams will be open to the public with the sessions running from 3:30-4:45 p.m. As the designated home team for the game, Marist will conduct its batting practice period from 3:30-4:05 p.m., followed by Army from 4:05-4:45 p.m.

A free youth baseball clinic for kids ages kindergarten through eighth grade will be held from 4:50-5:35 p.m. and will still be conducted by players and coaches from both Army and Marist. Registration is available by clicking here. Four kids who attend the clinic will be selected at random to participate in promotions during the game itself. Two lucky youngsters will accompany Army head coach Jim Foster and Marist head coach Chris Tracz to home plate for the umpires meeting and the presentation of the lineup cards. The two remaining special guests will be chosen to hold the on-field microphone for the signing of the national anthem (pregame) and God Bless America (seventh-inning stretch).

Following the clinic a team autograph session will take place from 6:00-6:15 p.m. in the stands along both baselines.

SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS:

The Black Knights enter the game at 23-17 (12-5 Patriots League) and are coming off a 3-1 win vs Columbia on Tuesday.

Senior Jon Rosoff leads the team with a .338 (46-for-136) average, 46 hits, nine doubles, 34 RBI, a .419 slugging percentage and a .446 on base percentage.

Junior Mike Gagliardi will get the start and enters the game at 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA. In 15 innings pitched, he has given up six runs (four earned) on 12 hits with 19 walks, 49 strikeouts and a .218 opponent batting average against.

HOW TO FOLLOW:

Live stats will be available and fans can follow @Marist_BSB on Twitter for in game updates.

UP NEXT:

The Red Foxes return to McCann Field this weekend for a MAAC series vs the Fairfield Stags with a doubleheader on Saturday (Noon) and a single game on Sunday (Noon).