CLINTON, South Carolina - Marist baseball returns to action at Presbyterian College (1-2) on Feb. 23-24. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon, and come back for a Sunday showdown at 2 p.m. The games will be played at Lexington County Baseball Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW

• Twitter - @Marist_BSB

LAST TIME OUT

• The Red Foxes were defeated 4-3 in the final game at William & Mary despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
• Tyler Kapuscinski, Matt Rubayo and Gene Napolitano each earned an RBI.
• Tony Romanelli did not give up a hit in his five innings on the mound.

THE SEASON SO FAR

• Freshman right-hander Ryan Cardona played well in his first collegiate game, pitching 3.1 innings in game one of the William & Mary series. In his first full inning, he pitched three consecutive strikeouts and earned four on the day with no walks.
• Sophomore third baseman Robbie Armitage leads the team in batting average so far with .417. In 12 at-bats against the Tribe, he recorded five hits and a run along with a triple. 

ALEX PANSINI: WELCOME TO THE ROTATION

• Sophomore right-hander Alex Pansini made his first start of the season in game two of the opening series. He recorded five strikeouts and allowed only two hits in six innings. He went head-to-head with the Tribe's ace Bodie Sheehan, who allowed five hits and two runs in his six innings.

"Something that I have improved upon from last year that has helped me earn a starting role this year would be having better command of all my pitches, especially the change-up" stated the New Jersey-native. "When executed effectively, it can be one of the hardest pitches to hit and incorporating it in my game has given me more opportunities that I did not have in my freshman year".

• The sophomore made only two starts in seven appearances last season, and has worked his way into a starting role.

"From a stuff perspective our team has great confidence in him when he's on the rubber" commented Coach Chris Tracz on Pansini. "The thing that can separate him is the consistency in his work habits and how it translates in his outings. I am looking forward to his continued growth".

SCOUTING THE BLUE HOSE

• The Blue Hose come off of a 1-2 weekend against Alabama that saw them split a twinbill on Saturday with a 4-1 win. 
• Leading the way on offense for PC was junior Zacchaeus Rasberry who hit .500 including a game-tying home run in the 4-1 victory on Saturday. Jimmy Marcelli (.462) and Ashby Smith (.417) both added solid weekends for a Blue Hose offense.
• On the mound, Jake Rice picked up his first win as a Blue Hose, while Reagan Fowler compiled five strikeouts for a career-high on Saturday.

COACH'S OUTLOOK

"We are excited to get back on the field. We have another quality opponent in Presbyterian, but for us it needs to be about how we handle the opportunity" remarked Coach Tracz. "The more we can take care of the details and the little things, the more dynamic and aggressive we can be".
 

UP NEXT

The Red Foxes continue the road trip next weekend for a three-game series with Delaware State on March 1-3.