FISHKILL, New York – The Marist baseball team returns to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play as they travel to Dutchess Stadium for a three game series at the Manhattan Jaspers this weekend.

The Red Foxes and Jaspers will play a nine and seven inning doubleheader on Saturday (Noon) and a single nine inning game on Sunday (Noon).

LAST TIME OUT:
Marist picked up its sixth straight and 12^th overall non-conference win of the year with a 15-3 victory vs the Holy Cross Crusaders at McCann Field on Wednesday afternoon.

The Red Foxes also tied a season high with 15 runs (vs Army West Point, 4/29), recorded their second straight 15 run non-conference game and improved to 22-16 overall on the season and 21-6 in their last 27 games played since holding a 1-10 record to open the year after a 9-4 loss at Wofford on March 12.
Marist opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when freshman Nick Cantone led off with a single and stole second two batters later. Redshirt senior Greg Kocinski followed with an RBI double to center field, redshirt sophomore Tyler Kapuscinski walked and junior Frankie Gregoire reached on a hit by pitch to load the bases. After a strike out swinging, a wild pitch allowed Kocinski to score and it was 2-0 Red Foxes after one.

The Crusaders trimmed the deficit to one run in the top of the second. After a pop out to the shortstop, the next batter reached on a fielding error by the right fielder and advanced to second. Two batters later, an RBI single scored the runner and brought the score to 2-1 Marist.

The Red Foxes answered in the bottom of the inning when sophomore Matt Rubayo reached on a hit by pitch, sophomore Patrick Lighter singled, Cantone walked and two batters later, Kocinski laced a two RBI single through the right side, scoring Rubayo and Lightner. Kapuscinski followed with an RBI sac fly and advanced to second and then third on a wild pitch during the next at bat. After Gregoire was hit by a pitch, junior Anthony Lazar followed with an RBI single through the left side that scored Kocinski, redshirt junior Chris Tracz walked and Rubayo smacked a two RBI double down the left field line to extend the lead to 8-1.

Holy Cross answered in the top of the third with a leadoff single and then put a runner on third when a wild pitch allowed the runner to move up two bases. A walk was then followed by an RBI sac fly to trim the score to 8-2 Marist.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Red Foxes extended their lead again when Kapuscinski walked, Gregoire doubled to left center and Lazar followed with a three run home run to left field to give Marist an 11-2 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, back-to-back walks by Kocinski and Kapuscinski was followed with a third hit by pitch for Gregoire that loaded the bases. Lazar followed with an RBI fielder's choice with Kapuscinski out at third and freshman Gene Napolitano pinch hit for Tracz, reaching on a fielder's choice with Lazar out at second, before an errant throw by the shortstop got away from first and allowed Gregoire to score from third to bring extend their lead to 13-2.

The Red Foxes added single runs in the bottom of the sixth and eighth on an RBI single and RBI double by Kapuscinski and after eight innings it was 15-2 Marist.

The Crusaders got one back in the top of the ninth with a fielding error by the second baseman that allowed the runner to reach second, a single up the middle and an RBI single through the right side but that was as close as they would get with the next two batters flying out to give the Red Foxes the 15-3 win.

A SECOND HALF NON-CONFERENCE REVERSAL:

In addition to winning 21 of its last 27 games overall since starting 2018 by losing 10 of its first 11 games against opponents outside the MAAC, Marist won 11 of its final 12 non-conference games this season to finish year with a 12-11 record against non-MAAC teams. In the second half non-conference revival, the Red Foxes have averaged 7.92 runs scored per game vs 4.18 in the year's first 11 games and have allowed 4.17 runs per game vs 8.27 to their opponents.

RECENT SERIES HISTORY:

Marist has won seven of the last nine meetings between the teams, including two of the last three games between the two teams the last time they played April 16-17, 2016. The Red Foxes swept the first two games of the series, winning Game 1 13-7 and winning Game 2 14-2, behind a 14 run (13 hits + 1 error) bottom of the second inning during which all 14 runs were scored before a single out was recorded in the inning. Manhattan then picked up an 8-2 victory in Game 3.

NECK AND NECK IN THE MAAC:

Heading into this weekend's series, Marist (10-5, 3^rd) currently sits one game ahead of the Jaspers (9-6, T-4^th) in the MAAC standings. The two teams are also fairly similar in terms of where they rank offensively within the conference:

                            Manhattan                                         Marist
Hits -                    375 (5^th)                                             362 (6^th)
Doubles -             74 (T-4^th)                                            80 (3^rd)
RBI -                    207 (6^th)                                              212 (5^th)
Runs -                  227 (7^th)                                             244 (5^th)
 
SCOUTING THE JASPERS:

Manhattan enters the weekend at 21-23 (9-6 MAAC) and is coming off a 4-3 win vs the Albany Great Danes on Wednesday at Dutchess Stadium.

Junior Richie Barella leads the team with a .314 average, 50 hits and six stolen bases, while graduate student Matt Forlow is first with 15 doubles, 34 RBI, is second with 28 runs scored and is third with a .422 slugging percentage.

Junior Marc Galvan, graduate student Matt Simonetti and sophomore TJ Stuart have gotten the starts on the mound in recent MAAC series for the Jaspers.

Galvan is 4-4 with a 4.26 ERA and in 50.2 innings pitched, has given up 36 (24 earned) runs on 57 hits with 20 walks, 33 strikeouts and a .284 opponent batting average against.

Simonetti is 4-4 with a 3.55 ERA and in 58.1 innings pitched, has given up 31 (23 earned) runs on 63 hits, 18 walks, 61 strikeouts and a .268 opponent batting average against.

Stuart is 5-1 with a 1.99 ERA and in 45.1 innings pitched, has given up 10 (all earned) runs on 22 hits with 24 walks, 35 strikeouts and a .150 opponent batting average against.

HOW TO FOLLOW:

A live stream for Sunday's game will be available and live stats for all three games will also be available. Fans can also follow @Marist_BSB on Twitter for in game updates.

UP NEXT:

The Red Foxes have a week off from competition due to final exams for the Spring semester and return home to McCann Field for the final time this season when they host the Quinnipiac Bobcats in a nine and seven inning doubleheader next Saturday (Noon) and a single nine inning game next Sunday (Noon). Prior to the game on Sunday, a ceremony will be held to honor the careers of Spencer Bunting, Mike Coss, Charlie Jerla, Greg Kocinski, Thomas Henderson, Tony Romanelli, Andrew Rouse and Chris Tracz.