INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian baseball team snapped their 12-game losing streak against Mt. Vernon Nazarene and vaulted back into the win column Thursday afternoon, sweeping the Cougars in a pair of Crossroads League games. The Knights took game one 6-5, while sealing the sweep with a 5-3 victory in game two. Marian moves to 13-15 on the year following the wins, while leaping to 7-9 in league play.

GAME 1 | Marian 6-5 Mt. Vernon Nazarene

The opening game of the series opened as a pitcher's dual, with Damien Wallace matching Jarin Bertke in the opening frame, as neither starter allowed a runner to reach scoring position. The strong pitching continued with strikeouts taking five of the six outs in the second, as Wallace stranded a double while Bertke shrugged off a JJ Rivera walk.

In the third inning the zero's were finally removed from the board, as Wallace was tagged for three base hits in the frame, allowing the Cougars to bring in a pair of runs. Wallace notched a strikeout to end the frame and get out of the inning, brining his offense to the plate in the home half with Josh Lamb leading the charge with a one-out single. A double from Trey Heidlage brought in the catcher's courtesy runner AJ Bordenet, while Heidlage was able to score two batters later on an RBI base hit from Caden Jones, tying the game at 2-2. Mount Vernon would rally back in the fourth and score a run after getting a pair of hits against the Knights ace, as they held a 3-2 lead after four complete.

The Cougars would continue their scoring run in the top of the fifth inning, picking up two runs as the Knights made a pair of errors in the field to allow the guests to plate two more. Wallace was able to close the fifth and end his day with a flyout, and the offense responded in the fifth as Caden Mason and Lamb roped back to back singles to start the frame. The Knights executed a double steal with runners on the corners as Mason stole home, and a Kameron Salazar single followed the play to score Bordenet, making it a 5-4 game after the fifth.

The offense would keep rolling in the sixth after Joe Nelan came on in relief and shut Mt. Vernon down in the top half of the frame, as a pair of walks and single from JJ Rivera loaded the bases. Lamb kept his hot bat alive with two outs against Marian, driving in two runs on a shallow single to give Marian a 6-5 lead. The two RBI base hit for the catcher would stand as the final runs of the game, as Nelan closed strong getting a pair of strikeouts in a perfect seventh, while retiring the side after stranding a walk in the eighth. The southpaw pitcher ended the game by stranding two base runners in the ninth, closing his first win as a Knight with the 6-5 victory.

Wallace earned a no-decision throwing five innings, striking out seven batters on the day. Nelan (1-1) struckout four batters in his win, allowing one hit over his four innings of work. At the plate, Marian had 10 hits, with Lamb leading the way as he went 3-4 with a pair of RBI in the win. Mason and Rivera each had two hits for Marian, and Jones had a 1-2 game while walking twice.

GAME 2 | Marian 5-3 Mt. Vernon Nazarene

In the second act both Marian and Mt. Vernon scored their first runs of the game in the first inning, with both teams playing small ball to bring in their first run of the contest. Jones' RBI single allowed Marian to tie the score in the home half of the first, and in the second inning the offense scratched out two more runs, with Lamb recording an RBI single after a Mason walk and stolen base. The designated hitter Jones came up clutch again for the Knights in the bottom of the second after a Kameron Salazar single, pushing a base hit through the right side to add to the Marian lead.

The 3-1 lead was a good omen as Craig Nixon turned in one of his best outings of the season, working off the run allowed in the first inning to strand a pair of base runners in the second with two strikeouts. Nixon was near flawless in the third as he faced the minimum, and in the fourth the senior picked up two more strikeouts in a perfect frame. Marian added one more run to their ledger in the home half of the fourth as Jones hit a sacrifice fly to the warning track in center field, driving home Heidlage. 

Leading 4-1 after the senior's third RBI of the game, Nixon was again flawless in the fifth as he retired the side in order. The sixth inning was not as desirable for the senior as he allowed a pair of base hits over the first three batters faced, giving up the Cougars second run. Mt. Vernon would load the bases on a double and walk, but the righty pitcher dug in, getting his eighth strikeout of the game as he retired Brady Wallace to end the frame. 

A fourth RBI hit of the game from Caden Jones in the bottom of the sixth inning pushed Marian's lead back to three runs entering the seventh, as Daniel Brenneman came in to lock down the win. Brenneman would yield a run as Mt. Vernon worked the count and managed a pair of hits, but the senior would end the game with a strikeout and flyout, stranding three Cougar base runners to lock down the 5-3 win.

Marian had seven hits in the game two win, with three going to Jones as he batted 3-3 with four RBI in the win. Salazar had two of Marian's seven hits, with Heidlage and Lamb taking the other two. Heidlage would score three of Marian's four runs in the win. On the mound, Nixon (2-2) picked up his second win of the season, going 6.0 innings with eight batters struckout. Nixon would allow just two runs on five hits, and the closer in game two, Brenneman, claimed his first save of the year, striking out two in his inning of work. 

Marian will take on the Cougars Saturday afternoon as they close their season series, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.

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