The Marist baseball team closed out its three-game series with UNC-Asheville by splitting a doubleheader on March 16. The Red Foxes suffered an 11-3 loss in the opening game, but rebounded for a 6-5 victory in the nightcap. Sophomore Ryan Gauck (Clifton Park) homered in both games of the doubleheader, and drove in all three of Marist’s runs in the first game.
Junior Brian McDonough (Hanover, Mass.), red-shirt junior Kenny Anderson (Randolph, N.J.) and freshman Ben Henderson (Albany) had two hits apiece in game two. Junior lefty Josh Rickards (Glenolden, Pa.) tossed 6.1 innings to earn his first victory of the season. Rickards allowed just two earned runs and struck out five.
The Red Foxes took the lead in game two by scoring three times in their half of the fourth, with the big blow coming via a two-run double off the bat of Henderson. Marist added two more runs in the fifth on Gauck’s home run and a sacrifice fly from freshman Michael Gallic (Tolland, Conn.).
Marist made it 6-3 in its half of the eighth on an RBI double by junior Kyle Meyer (East Greenbush). UNC-Asheville fought back with two runs in the bottom of the eighth, but sophomore right-hander Eric Alessio (Nyack) came in to get to the final five outs, as he recorded his first save of the season.
In the first game, Marist fell behind 6-0 after the first two innings. Gauck got the Red Foxes on the scoreboard with a two-run homer in the third. However, UNC-Asheville scored four times in the fourth and once in the eighth to run the lead to 11-2. Gauck’s single in the ninth made it 11-3.
Right-hander B.J. Martin (Manalapan, N.J.) took the loss in game to fall to 0-2 on the season. Martin gave up six runs in 1.2 innings, only one of which was earned. He recorded four strikeouts. Freshman lefty Sean McKeown (Hillsborough, N.J.) came on to pitch 3.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Marist now stands at 2-7 on the season. The Red Foxes will return to action on Saturday, March 22, when they play a double-header at MAAC-foe Fairfield.
Water polo wins four at Claremont Convergence
The Marist women’s water polo team lengthened its winning streak to six games this past weekend, winning all four of its games at the Claremont Convergence tournament held at Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-McKenna Colleges on March 15-16.
Senior driver Maggie Hatcher (Evanston, Ill.) led the Red Foxes with 12 goals in the four games, with sophomore Kristen Barnett (Houston, Texas) adding 10 goals in the four games.
The Red Foxes opened the weekend on March 15 with games against Whittier College and LaVerne. Marist scored five goals in both the first and third quarters against the Poets of Whittier to take a 12-6 lead into the fourth quarter, eventually winning 16-8.
Hatcher led the Red Foxes with five goals in the game, as Barnett, Rachel Sunday (Carlisle, Pa.), and Angie Rampton (Simi Valley, Calif.) each recorded three goals in the win. Defensively, Samantha Swartz (Harleysville, Pa.) and Hatcher each recorded four steals as goalies Elizabeth Davis (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Madison Weber (Walnut Creek, Calif.) combined for five saves in the win.
In their other game on Saturday, the Red Foxes rode an eight-goal third quarter to a 16-3 win over the LaVerne Leopards. Barnett led Marist with three goals, with Sunday, Colleen Lischwe (Kirkwood, Mo.), and Agnes Konopka (Simi Valley, Calif.) each adding a pair of goals. Freshmen Jessica Stevenson (San Clemente, Calif.) and Grace Hatcher (Evanston, Ill.) each scored their first career goal in the win. Davis led Marist with five assists.
On March 16, Marist took on Cal State San Bernardino and the host Claremont-McKenna. The Red Foxes opened with Cal State San Bernardino in what was a very physical game. Marist got ahead of the Coyotes 8-4 in the fourth quarter and almost let the game slip away, taking it 9-7. Hatcher led the Red Foxes with three goals as Barnett and Katelin McCahill (East Grand Rapids, Mich.) each scored twice. Sophomore Hilary Schroeder (Santa Barbara, Calif.) helped the Marist offense by drawing five ejections in the game.
Marist closed the tournament against the host Athenas of Claremont-McKenna. As they did all weekend, the Red Foxes got out to a big lead early in the game. Marist got ahead 8-2 at halftime and won 12-7. For the third time this weekend, Maggie Hatcher led the Red Foxes with three goals. Barnett, Rampton, and Konopka each added two goals as Marist moved its record to 12-5.
The Red Foxes continued their California trip with games against George Washington and Redlands this week, after the Beat’s deadline, and will play at home against Queens on March 29 at 10 a.m.