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Click HERE For Saturday's Marist-Saint Peter's Live Blog
May 2, 2009
JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Fans can follow all the action from Saturday's Marist-Saint Peter's doubleheader through today's live blog. Updates will come below, and can be accessed by clicking the Refresh button or F5 on your computer. Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Jaroschak Field! I'm Marist Sports Information Director Mike Ferraro, and I'll be with you for both games of today's doubleheader. Feel free to send any comments or questions to me at Michael.J.Ferraro@Marist.edu I apologize for the late start ... just had to sort out some power issues, but we're all set to go. Jaroschak Field is located on the banks of the Hackensack River, and the outfield fence of Saint Peter's softball field is lcated right beyond the right field foul line of the baseball field. As a result, some foul balls from baseball can land right on the softball field, as one did from Marist senior left fielder Brian McDonough in the top of the first. The Saint Peter's softball team is hosting Niagara today in a doubleheader starting at 12:30 p.m. With the Marist softball team's season concluded with a 9-7 MAAC record and Niagara at 6-6 with four games to go, I'll see if I can pass along updated from that doubleheader today as well, which may be crucial in determining the Red Foxes' MAAC Tournament chances. Today's blog position is from the bleachers on the first-base side, approximately five feet away from the Marist dugout. Therefore, if it starts raining (and the clouds are ominous here), the blog may have to be temporarily shut down. In the first inning, the Red Foxes took a 2-0 lead on a two-run homer by red-shirt sophomore catcher Bryce Nugent. Senior left-hander Josh Rickards, Marist's game one starter, allowed one hit in the bottom of the first, but then stranded a runner at second.
Here's the Marist lineup for game one: Richard Curylo, SS And, on the mound, senior lefty Josh Rickards. Here's the lineup for Saint Peter's: Justyn Carter, 2B And, on the mount, RHP Dom Macaluso. In the second, the Red Foxes got a pair of singles from Prano and Meyer, but left both of them on. Meanwhile, Rickards cruised through a 1-2-3 inning in his half of the second. And now, we're caught up. Updates will follow after each half-inning, and scoring plays will be listed in bold, TOP 3RD Schwind flies out to center. Pacione laces a single to center, which is followed by a walk to Nugent. McDonough draws a walk on a 3-2 pitch, which loads the bases for Agostini, who grounds into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. Again, the Red Foxes have a chance to put runs on the board. They've put at least two runers on in each inning as they lead 2-0 heading to the bottom of the third. BOTTOM 3RD Our first softball update of the day ... Saint Peter's leads Niagara 2-0 after one. Good news for the Red Foxes on that front. Martirano leads off for the Peacocks with a single, and advances to second on a bunt by Garcia, who is out at first 5-3. Rickards hits Carter in the backside. Mullee pops out Gauck, who made a long running catch to get to the ball in foul territory, but Martirano tags up and moves to third. With first and third and two outs, Duross goes down on strikes to end the inning. And after three, it's 2-0 Marist. TOP 4TH Gauck leads off with a double down the right-field line. Prano follows with a very productive out, grounding out to second base and moving Gauck over to third. For the sacrifice with actually laying down a bunt, he is congratulated heartily by his teammates. Saint Peter's brings the infield in, and Meyer -- an RBI machine as of late -- grounds to short. Mullee makes a diving stop and throws Meyer out at first while Gauck holds at third. With two outs, Curylo draws a walk, putting runners at the corners. Schwind then hits a fly ball to right, which is caught by Duross in foul territory to end the inning. Marist leads 2-0 ... but you get the feeling it could be more. BOTTOM 4TH Koster goes down on strikes. So does McGuire. Rickards then gets LaCava swinging as he strikes out the side. Rickards is rolling through four, and the Red Foxes have a 2-0 advantage. TOP 5TH The clouds have parted as we are bathed in sunshine. Nice day; temperatures are in the mid-60s. Pacione flies out to center. Nugent strikes out looking. McDonough laces a two-out single to right. Agostini grounds one up the middle, and Carter makes a diving effort to knock it down and Agostini's infield single puts runners on first and second with two outs. Gauck strikes out on a 3-2 pitch on a foul tip. Red Foxes still hold a 2-0 edge. BOTTOM 5TH Madison strikes out swinging. Martirano singles through the left side. Garcia draws a walk, putting runners on first and second as Saint Peter's moves back to the top of the order. Carter flies out to left. With two outs,the runners move up to second and third on a wild pitch. Rickards then retires Mullee on a comebacker to end the inning. Rickards has a shutout through five, and the Red Foxes still lead 2-0. Meanwhile, in softball action right behind me. Saint Peter's leads Niagara 3-1. TOP 6TH Prano flies out to deep center. Meyer singles, and Curylo follows with a home run to left to give the Red Foxes a 4-0 lead. Schwind pops one up very high to short, but Mullee drops it and Schwind reaches first. Pacione then singles up the middle, moving Schwind to third. And now, a pitching change for the Peacocks as right-hander Matt McMahon (0-2, 7.09 ERA) is in. The first hitter he'll face is Nugent. Nugent greets him with his second homer of the day, a three-run shot to right to put Marist up 7-0, McDonough skies one deep to left, but LaCava makes the catch with his glove pinned against the wall for the second out. Agostini flies out to center to end the inning. The Red Foxes put up a five-spot and lead 7-0. BOTTOM 6TH Duross strikes out swinging. Koster singles through the left side. McGuire draws a walk, putting runners on first and second. LaCava walks on four pitches to load the bases. Rickards then issues his third consecutive walk, as LaCava's free pass forces home a run to make the score 7-1. And with that, a pitching change. Freshman right-hander Jake Rifkin (1-5, 2.32) is in. And, as he's done more often than not this year, Rifkin pitches out of a jam with a ground ball double play. Madison grounds into a 6-4-3, and that does it for the Peacocks in the sixth. After six, it's Marist 7, Saint Peter's 1. TOP 7TH Gauck singles, as does Prano on a hit and run, moving Gauck to third. Meyer walks to load the bases with none out. Curylo pops out to short for the first out. Schwind draws a walk on a full-count pitch, forcing home Gauck and giving Marist an 8-1 lead. And then, all heck really breaks loose ... Pacione singles off Mullee's glove, making it 10-1 Marist as a pair of runs score. However, Schwind is caught off second, and is caught in a rundown. He heads to third, and then retreats to second as Pacione moves up to second. Mullee then tags both. Schwind is called out for the second out. After an argument from Saint Peter's, it's ruled that Pacione is also out, presumably because he wasn't on the bag. Either way, it's 10-1 Marist going to the bottom of the seventh, as we're treated to the late Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." A great touch by Saint Peter's Assistant SID David Freeman and complany. Meanwhile, in softball action, Niagara has broken open an 11-5 lead against Saint Peter's in the fifth. With Niagara having a 6-6 MAAC record, the Red Foxes are Peahens' fans today. BOTTOM 7TH Saint Peter's scores a run to make it 10-2 ... while yours truly got caught out of position trying to figure out some scoring details related to the top of the inning's rundown situation. TOP 8TH Right-hander Anthony DeLeo is now pitching for Saint Peter's, and the bizarre plays continue .. Nugent pops up to third, and it's dropped, and then he's caught between first and second and eventually tagged out in a rundown. McDonough is hit by a pitch, and Agostini singles, moving McDonough to second. Gauck pops up to short. Prano then pops up to third to end the inning. It's 10-2 Marist after seven-and-a-half.. BOTTOM 8TH McGuire hits one deep to right, but Meyer makes the catch at the wall for the first out. LaCava dunks one right between Prano going out and Meyer coming in for a single. Madison is hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second. Pinch-hitter Pat Farrell singles, driving in LaCava and moving Madison to third, making it 10-3. Garcia hits a comebacker, which Rifkin momentarily bobbles but recovers to throw him out at first. But Madison scores to make it 10-4. Pinch-hitter Cody Haack then grounds out 3-1 to end the inning. Marist leads 10-4 heading to the ninth. And in softball action, Niagara takes game one from Saint Peter's by a count of 12-5. TOP 9TH Meyer lines out to center. Curylo singles to center. Schwind walks, moving Curylo to second. Pacione singles through the right side, and Curylo stops at third, loading the bases for Nugent. Nugent strikes out, bringing up McDonough with two outs. McDonough dunks a single to center, driving home Curylo and Schwind to make the score 12-4 as Pacione stops at second. Agostini pops up to Mullee in short left to end the inning. The Red Foxes add a couple of insurance runs, making it 12-4 as it's last licks for the Peacocks. In other MAAC baseball action today ... Canisius beats Siena 19-13, Manhattan beats Niagara 17-6 with 11 in the 8th, and Fairfield downs Iona 8-3. All of these teams will play a doubleheader today. Sophomore lefty Chad Gallagher will pitch the ninth for the Red Foxes. BOTTOM 9TH Gallagher, who's been really effective in his last few outings, walks Mullee on four pitches to start the inning. Gallagher then hits Duross, putting runners on first and second with none out. Koster grounds it up the middle, and Curylo ranges far to his left to force Duross at second as Mullee advances to third. McGuire hits a check-swing grounder to first. Gauck throws to second to retire Koster, but the throw back is not in time, and Mullee scores to make it 12-5. LaCava singles to left, putting runners at first and second. There is a pinch-runner for McGuire -- sophomore Sean McFadden. Madison drives one over Schwind's head in center, scoring two runs and making it 12-7. Farrell flies out to Meyer in right to end it. It's a 12-7 Marist win. We'll be back with game two at approximately 3:40 p.m. And here we go for game two. The Marist lineup: Richard Curylo, SS And on the mound, sophomore righty Kyle Putnam. So for the Red Foxes, Anderson replaces Agostini in the DH spot, and Gauck moves up to the six spot. Other than that, it's your same lineup as game one. And now for Saint Peter's: Justyn Carter, 2B And on the mound, it's right-hander Ethan Jackson. TOP 1ST Curylo stikes out looking. Schwind singles to left. Pacione flies out to center. Nugent grounds it to second, and Carter recovers after a bobble to throw him out for the third out. It's Marist 0, Saint Peter's coming to bat. BOTTOM 1ST Carter leads off with a single, and then steals second. McFadden draws a walk. Koster flies out to center. Carter steals third on a very close play, just under the tag of Pacione. Putnam strikes out Duross. Mullee flies out to center to end the inning. And after one, we're tied at zero. Meanwhile, good news for the Marist softball team's MAAC Tournament hopes ... Saint Peter's lead Niagara 4-0 in the fifth inning of game two. TOP 2ND McDonough draws a leadoff walk. Gauck singles up the middle. Anderson grounds it short, and Mullee throws to second to force Gauck, but Carter's throw is wild. Anderson is safe, and McDonough keeps running after reaching third, crossing the plate to give Marist a 1-0 lead. Prano strikes out looking for the second out. Meyer doubles to the left-center gap, but Anderson has to put on the brakes at third after taking a bad step going around second. Curylo then flies out to end the inning. The Red Foxes lead 1-0. BOTTOM 2ND McGuire hits a rope, but it's right at Curylo for the first out. LaCava is hit by a pitch, and then steals second on the first pitch of the at bat to Martirano. Martirano grounds out with a swinging bunt back to Putnam, which advances LaCava to third with two down. Lynch singles to right, driving in LaCava and tying the score at one. Carter grounds it to third, but Pacione bobbles it for an error as Carter reaches and Lynch advances to second. McFadden draws a walk, loading the bases. Koster flies out to left to end the inning. Saint Peter's ties it at one, but leaves the bases loaded. TOP 3RD Schwind strikes out. Pacione grounds out to first, as Koster takes it to the bag himself for the second out. Nugent hits one up the middle which is cut off by Mullee, but his throw to first is bobbled by Koster. Nugent may have beaten the throw anyway, as he is on first with two away. McDonough singles to center, and Nugent advances to third, putting runners at the corners for Gauck with two down. Gauck laces one in the right-center gap, scoring Nugent to put Marist up 2-1. But McDonough is thrown out at the plate for the final out. Marist leads 2-1 going to the bottom of the third. BOTTOM 3RD Duross hits a flare that lands in the middle of the diamond for a hit. He steals second and scores on a single by Mullee to right, tying the score at two. Mullee then advances to second on a balk. Putnam then strikes out McGuire and LaCava before getting Martirano to fly out to end the inning. After three, it's 2-2. And some rough news for Marist softball ... Niagara erases a four-run deficit to win 5-4 in the seventh inning. That gives the Purple Eagles an 8-6 MAAC record going into the final day of the season. TOP 4TH Anderson flies out to center. Prano strikes out looking. Meyer lofts one into short center, and Mullee goes out to make an over the shoulder catch. The Red Foxes go down 1-2-3, and we're tied at two going to the bottom of the fourth. BOTTOM 4TH Lynch strikes out swinging. Carter scoots one right past Pacione at third to reach with one out. However, Carter is thrown out by Nugent trying to steal second, with Curylo applying the tag. McFadden hits one to the right side. Both Gauck and Prano go for it, and although Prano fields it on the outfield grass, McFadden beats Putnam to the bag, reaching without a throw. Koster grounds out to Pacione to end the inning. After four, it's 2-2. Meanwhile, in other MAAC action ... Canisius completes the doubleheader sweep, knocking off Siena 3-1 ... Iona earns a split with Fairfield, winning game two 6-3 ... Niagara leads Manhattan 7-4 in the bottom of the sixth. TOP 5TH Swinging at the first pitch, Curylo grounds out to short. Schwind is hit by a pitch, and then advances to second when an offering from Jackson goes to the backstop. Pacione draws a walk, and on ball four, Schwind goes to third when the pitch bounces away. Nugent then laces a single through the right side,scoring Schwind to put Marist up 3-2 as Pacione hustles into third. With men at the corners and one down, McDonough grounds a full count pitch to short, but because Nugent was running on a 3-2 pitch, there's no throw to second, McDonough is retired at first for the second out, and Pacione scores to put Marist up 4-2. Gauck then grounds out on a slow roller to second to end the inning. But the Red Foxes score twice to take a 4-2 lead. Reminder -- this second game is a seven-inning contest. BOTTOM 5TH Duross hits a hard liner to left, but McDonough goes to his right and makes a sliding catch for the first out. Mullee goes down looking for the second out. After just missing a home run foul to right, McGuire singles to center. LaCava flies out to Meyer to end the inning. And after five, Marist leads 4-2. In other actoin, Niagara knocks off Manhattan 7-4. If the Red Foxes hold on in theis second game, they will be tied with Niagara for second at 11-6 -- but both teams would only be one-and-a-half games ahead of Rider (now in fifth). Canisius, with its sweep of Siena today, has now moved into fourth at 10-7. TOP 6TH A pitch after LaCava drops a fly ball foul in left, Anderson laces a double to left. Senior Dan Gallagher comes in to pinch-run for him, and freshman George Agostini is now up to pinch-hit for Prano. Agostini flies out to left for the first out. Meyer slams a double to left-center, scoring Gallagher to give the Red Foxes a 5-2 lead. Curylo flies out to right for the second out, as Meyer holds at second. Schwind flies out to deep left to end the inning. The Red Foxes tack on another, and lead 5-2 with six more outs to get. BOTTOM 6TH Some housekeeping first for the Red Foxes ... Agostini stays in the game at third, while Pacione slids over to second. Putnam's day is done after five solid innings, and junior right-hander Eric Alessio is now on to pitch. Martirano hits Alessio's first pitch out of the ballpark to left, making the score 5-3. Alessio then walks Lynch on four pitches. A wild pitch moves Lynch up to second. Carter can't check his swing on a 2-2 pitch, and goes down for the first out. McFadden grounds out to second for out number two, as Lynch moves up to third. And Dennis Healy is out to the mound to make a pitching change. Closer Jacob Wiley is in to attempt a four-out save. Koster lines out to Pacione at second to end the inning. Going to the seventh (final) inning, Marist is up 5-3. TOP 7TH Jackson is still in for Saint Peter's. Pacione leads off with a double into the gap in left-center, which brings about a visit to the mound. Jackson's day is over, and senior right-hander Pedro Adorno is on his way in from the left-field bullpen. Nugent flies out to left for the first out. McDonough singles up the middle, and Pacione scores from second to put the Red Foxes up 6-3. Gauck laces a double down the right-field line, and McDonough holds at third. It's second and third with one away for Dan Gallagher, who remained in the DH spot after pinch-running for Andreson last inning. Saint Peter's brings the infield in, and Gallagher grounds to Mullee. The runners hold as Mullee throws out Gallagher at first for the second out. Agostini, making his second at-bat after pinch-hitting for Prano last inning, Agostini doubles to the gap right-center, scoring both McDonough and Gauck to give Marist an 8-3 lead. Meyer strikes out looking to end the inning. The Red Foxes add three insurance runs, and have just three more outs to get to complete the doubleheader sweep as Wiley heads back out to the hill. BOTTOM 7TH Duross grounds it to short, but reaches on a throwing error by Curylo. Mullee strikes out looking for the first out.McGuire flies out to Meyer in right for the second out. Wiley strikes out LaCava looking to end it -- put an 8-3 win a doubleheader sweep in the books for the Red Foxes. With an 11-6 MAAC record, Marist is now tied with Niagara for second place. Special note: tomorrow's game is now moved up to 10 a.m. -- that was just announced here, and could quite possibly be a weather-related move. Stay tuned to GoRedFoxes.com for further updates, as well as a recap of today's games. Thanks for following today's blog! |
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