Mishawaka, Ind. - The Marian baseball team suffered a painful sweep on Friday against Bethel University, dropping a slugfest in game one before watching a win slip away in the bottom of the seventh of game two with a walk-off homerun giving the Pilots a win. Marian's two losses drop them to 13-21 on the year and 7-15 in Crossroads League play.
Game 1 | Marian 7-11 Bethel
Bethel took off with an early lead in the opening game of the day, as they were able to strike in the second inning after
Joe Nelan pitched out of a jam in the first. The Pilots racked up four singles against Nelan in the second to bring in a pair of runs, while mirroring their success in the bottom of the third as three base hits helped score two more.
Nelan was able to pitch out of each inning, and in the fourth got a sense of relief as the offense went to work, with
Trey Heidlage and
JJ Rivera roping back to back singles. A sacrifice bunt pushed the men into scoring position, and a two-RBI double from
Bryce Davenport erased the zero on the scoreboard, plating Marian's first runs of the game. A sacrifice fly from
Caden Mason would bring home Davenport after he took third on a wild pitch, entering the home half of the fourth inning trailing 4-3.
Despite the new momentum, Marian was unable to hold the score, as Nelan allowed three consecutive base hits to open the home half of the fourth to allow Bethel to scratch a run.
Daniel Brenneman was called on out of the bullpen after the base hit by Eli MacDonald, as the senior was able to close the inning but not before giving up a pair of runs on a sacrifice fly and wild pitch, as Bethel led 7-3 as the inning came to an end.
Marian charged back again in the fifth and drove in three runs with two outs, as a Heidlage walk and an error off the bat of Rivera prolonged the frame.
Josh Lamb took advantage and roped an RBI single through the left side to bring home Heidlage, while Davenport launched his second double to left-center on the day, score two more runs to bring the Knights back within a run. Brenneman was unable to keep the game a one-run affair as the game moved into the bottom of the fifth, as the righty struggled with Bethel jumping on first pitch fastballs, ripping three hits through the Knights defense to score two more runs.
Bethel would add to their lead and go ahead 10-6 in the bottom of the sixth inning, as a single and error against Brenneman came in to score on a sacrifice fly.
Michael Mates would finish the sixth, and in the seventh the Pilots managed to bring in one more off the bullpen, with
Justin Johnson giving up one after allowing three hits. The Knights would manage to score one in the top of the eighth as a pair of walks would help move a lead-runner to third, with Lamb plating his second RBI on a single to the grass. Marian would come up short of extending the rally in the eighth, and in the ninth grounded into a double play to end the game, falling by the final of 11-7.
Nelan took the loss in the game throwing three-plus innings, allowing 11 hits in his outing. Brenneman and Johsnon would each allow four hits, with Brenneman yielding three runs and Johnson one. At the plate Marian had 10 base hits as a team, with Davenport leading the way going 3-5 with two doubles and four RBI. Lamb went 2-2 with a pair of runs driven in, and
Dawson Estep had two hits in the game.
Game 2 | Marian 5-6 Bethel
The Pilots wasted little time scoring in the second act of the doubleheader, as
Damien Wallace was roughed up for four hits that allowed the home team to score three runs in the opening frame of the game. Wallace was able to end the inning with a play at the plate after a pitch skirted away from his catcher
Josh Lamb, and found a groove in the second inning as the right-hander stranded a single, while in the third went three-up, three-down.
Marian got their offense started in the third inning as they began to ride Wallace's momentum, getting a lead-off single from
Rylan Huntley in his first game in nearly three weeks.
Dawson Estep kept a hot bat swinging as he belted a 1-2 pitch into deep right-center field, as the freshman hammered his first Marian home run to put a pair of runs on the board. The game drew to a tie in the top of the fourth, with
JJ Rivera ripping a double to start the frame, scoring a pair of batters later as the Pilots shortstop let a hard hit grounder from Huntley swim through his legs, with the error tying the game 3-3.
Wallace cruised through the fourth inning tossing a quick one, two, three frame, and in the fifth worked around a two-out walk to keep the game tied. In the top of the sixth Marian's offense drove home two more runs, as Rivera and
Max Steffen roped back to back doubles, trading places to take their first lead of the game. Steffen's courtesy runner,
Johnny Roeder, scored with ease on a sacrifice fly by Huntley, pushing the Knights lead to a pair.
Marian's defense protected the lead after six complete as a one-out single for Bethel was stuck at second base, but in the seventh Marian got into a jam as Wallace tossed a one-out walk. A base hit and passed ball helped the Pilots put runners on the corners, bringing Andrew Miranda to the plate. Wallace was able to get ahead in the count 0-2, but left a pitch over the plate for Miranda to hit, as the Pilots outfielder delivered a walk-off three-run home run to right field, winning the game for Bethel 6-5.
Wallace pitched the entire 6.1 innings for Marian, falling to 4-3 as he gave up eight hits and three walks that brought in six runs. The Knights offense was led by
JJ Rivera's 2-3 outing as he had a pair of doubles and runs scored, while Huntley finished 1-2 in his return. Estep ended the game 1-2 with a walk, hitting his first home run of the season.
The Knights and Pilots will finish their series on Saturday afternoon, starting the weekend doubleheader at 1 p.m. with Marian looking to bounce back into the win column.
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