INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian baseball team picked up their first Crossroads League win of the season on Thursday night, walking-off a 7-6 game two against Goshen College to save a split on the afternoon. The Knights went 1-1 on the day to Goshen, moving to 7-7 overall on the season.

GAME 1 | Marian 2-7 Goshen

Walks hurt the Marian pitching staff in the first two innings, as Chris Adams struggled to find the strike zone in the first two innings. Adams was able to work around two walks in the first inning with a double play and strikeout helping his cause, but in the second the second-year player was lifted after recording one out for Daniel Brenneman. Adams would allow one run before exiting, while Brenneman limited the damage to just two scores as he managed his way out of the inning. Marian had a chance to break their shutout in the home half of the inning as they walked the bases loaded, but grounded out without managing to add a run to the board.

Brenneman kept the Maple Leafs to minimal offense as he settled into the game, stranding a hit in the third inning while in the fourth cutting what could have been a big inning to just one score as the Knights committed two errors in the frame. Trailing 3-0 going into the bottom of the fifth, Marian finally broke the shutout as Kameron Salazar was hit by a pitch in the second at bat of the inning. Needing just two pitches to make an impact, Trey Heidlage found a fastball and launched his second home run of the season, going deep to left field for two runs. Marian was unable to keep the offense rolling after the home run however, ending the fifth trailing 3-2.

Marian's comeback would come to a halt after the fifth inning, as Goshen padded their lead in the sixth inning, spraying five doubles into the outfield off of Brenneman and Christian Lopez. The hit parade brought home four runs, allowing the Maple Leafs to take a commanding 7-2 lead. The runs would prove to be enough, as Marian managed just three base runners in the final 12 outs of the game, with one coming on a ninth inning single from Caden Mason. Without the offensive support, Marian would take the game one defeat by a 7-2 count.

Heidlage had two of Marian's three hits in the loss, with Mason tacking on the other. Adams suffered the loss for Marian throwing 1.1 innings. Brenneman would allow four runs with three earned in four innings of work, with Lopez allowing the other run in his five batters faced. Jayson Cottrell held Goshen scoreless for the final three innings, as the redshirt freshman went three hitless innings in his 2023 pitching debut. Cotrell allowed one walk and struckout three batters in his time on the mound.

GAME 2 | Marian 7-6 Goshen

Goshen didn't wait long in the second game to start their offense, getting a lead-off home run from Peyton Smith off Joe Nelan on the second pitch of the game. Nelan would pick up three quick outs after giving up the long ball, and got instant run support as his offense plated two runs in the home half. Jackson Hogg picked up an RBI single to tie the game in the bottom of the frame, while JJ Rivera reached on a fielder's choice to record an RBI and score his fellow outfielder. 

The 2-1 lead was short-lived, as Goshen responded with two runs on three hits against Nelan in the top of the second inning to jump back on top. The back and forth scoring trend continued in the home half of the second, with Marian going to work offensively by driving in three runs. A Caden Mason double started the action, with the sophomore scoring two batters later on an RBI single from Heidlage. A error would help bring home Salazar, and a ground out from Dion Wintjes scored another unearned run to provide Marian with a 5-3 lead.

Pitching picked up after the high-scoring start, with Nelan and AJ Lenn each tossing a scoreless third inning. Nelan would yield a run in the fourth as Goshen found an two-out RBI single, cutting the Knights' lead to a single run. Marian would hold their lead until the fifth inning, when Goshen got to reliever Michael Mates. Mates issued a walk and single, with a sacrifice fly driving in the tying run. Goshen then scored the go-ahead run on a balk, pushing in front 6-5 before the inning's end. 

Marian was unable to add to their score in both the fifth and sixth, entering the bottom of the seventh trailing 6-5 after Taylor Soper did his part to keep it a one-run game. Down to their final three outs, Heidlage woke up the Knights with a lead-off double, stretching a sure-fire single into the two-base hit. Hogg needed just one pitch to tie the game as he singled down the line, and one batter later Marian had runner's on first and second base after Wintjes reached on a dropped fly ball in the outfield. With two runners on, Bryce Davneport delivered the game-winning hit, ripping an 0-1 pitch into left field to find the walk-off RBI single.

The 7-6 win was the Knights first of the Crossroads League season, as Marian out-hit Goshen 10-8 in the win. Heidlage and Hogg each had two hits in the win, while Davenport's only hit of the day stood for the walk-off. Soper claimed his first win of the season on the mound, pitching a scoreless sixth and seventh inning as he scattered a hit while earning two strikeouts. 

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