LAWRENCEVILLE, New Jersey – Marist baseball (24-21, 12-6 MAAC) will head down to New Jersey to take on Rider (14-33, 5-13 MAAC) in their penultimate MAAC series of the season. The Red Foxes are coming off of a successful string of games in which they won nine of their last ten. Originally scheduled to take place Saturday and Sunday, the series will begin tomorrow, May 10 at 1 p.m. and conclude with a doubleheader on May 11 beginning at noon.
 

LAST TIME OUT

• Marist swept Saint Peter's, winning the final game 6-4 on May 4.
• Frankie Gregoire was lethal for all three games, batting .667 for the series with eight RBIs and two homers. He was named MAAC Player of the Week for his standout performances over the week.
• Tony Romanelli threw five innings and gave up just one hit in his appearance in the series.
• Alex Pansini was strong in the series opener, pitching a perfect five innings before finally giving up a hit. He struck out seven on the day.

RUBAYO COMING UP BIG

Junior Matt Rubayo is having the best season of his career in his first year as a consistent starter. He has come up big in a number of games, including the go-ahead 3-RBI triple against Niagara on April 28 that led to a 5-3 win and the series victory.

"We try to practice pressure situations with the same mentality every day and compete with each other to make sure that we are not caught by surprise by anything in a game," reflected Rubayo. "We also focus on staying calm and in the moment and working for each other. When we do that, we are able to string together a lot of good at-bats as a team that end up giving us chances to win games."

In the previous two seasons combined, Rubayo appeared in 31 games. So far this season, he has appeared in 39 and started 35 with a .252 average and 14 RBIs. His 33 hits and 16 runs have given the Red Foxes a big boost in crunch-time situations.

"I think I started the season playing well and then fell off a bit at the start of conference play," stated the outfielder. "My teammates and coaches stuck with me and helped me make the adjustments mentally and physically that have started to turn things back around."

SCOUTING THE BRONCS

• Rider took a game over Manhattan last weekend to end a 13-game losing streak.
• Riley Mihalik is one of the top hitters in the MAAC with an average of .322, 10 home runs and 35 RBIs.
• Pete Soporowski leads the pitching staff with 47.2 innings and 62 strikeouts in just eight games.

UP NEXT

Marist closes out the regular season with a home series on May 17-18. The Red Foxes will host Siena in three games over the two days of play.