INDIANAPOLIS - Scoring 30 runs over two games on Sunday afternoon, the Marian baseball team ended their opening weekend on a three-game winning streak as they swept a double-header against IUPUC at Bishop Chatard High School. The Knights took game one 16-3 and game two 14-3, with both seven inning games giving the team a 3-1 record on the year.

Game 1 | Marian 16-3 IUPUC
Marian took no time getting on the scoreboard Sunday, as they plated a run in the top of the first inning, as the guests on the scoreboard got an RBI groundout from Jacob Dill. Starting pitcher for Marian Davis Enfield would struggle to back his lead after the Crimson Pride, as the home team pushed across three runs on three base hits, taking a 3-1 lead after the first inning.

The Knights offense would get the lead back for good in the second inning, scoring four total runs over hits and two walked batters. Kameron Salazar drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI single, while a sacrifice fly by Caden Mason plated the second. Salazar would later score on a throwing error and Dawson Estep crossed the plate on a wild pitch, capping the four run frame. Rylan Huntley would add a triple to the inning before the top half of the inning came to an end, and in the home half Enfield settled in, striking out the side around a pair of walks to hold a 5-3 lead.

Marian would keep their offense running on a high-octane pace in each of the next four innings, scoring one or more runs on the Crimson Pride. In the third inning Seth Hogg rounded the bases after posting a base hit thanks to errors by IUPUC, and a double from Estep would tack on another run. The Knights added four more runs in the fourth inning with three coming from a bases-clearing double by Salazar and another by a Cole McManus double, and in the fifth Dill recorded another RBI groundout that scored Caden Mason. The 16-run day was capped off with four runs in the top of the sixth, as the Knights took advantage of the bottom of the Pride bullpen, as walks and wild pitches helped bring runners home.

Enfield finished his season-opening outing with a three-up, three-down third inning, and picked up two strikeouts in the bottom of the fourth inning before hitting his pitch count for the day. Logan Drook took over for Enfield with one out to get in the fourth, and faced two batters before closing the frame with a ground out. Drook would allow one hit and just two base runners in total over the final three innings of the game, as the second-year Knight closed the 16-3 lashing with a three-up, three-down seventh inning.

Enfield earned the win throwing 3.2 innings, allowing three hits and three runs while striking out eight hitters. Drook finished the game throwing 3.1 innings total, striking out five and allowing four total runners to reach base. At the plate, Salazar led the team with five RBI in his 2-3 outing, and Caden Mason had a pair of hits and RBI in the game. Estep also plated two runs in the win, with Marian recording six extra base hits.

Game 2 | Marian 14-3 | 7 Innings
In the scheduled nine-inning game, IUPUC scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning as they took advantage of some early struggles by starting pitcher Aden Burnside. The southpaw walked three batters in the first inning, with an error plaguing the Marian pitcher allowing the game's first run to score. Burnside would get out of trouble with a groundout to limit the damage to one, and responded in the second inning by striking out the side.

The offense would need two full innings to get rolling, but in the top of the third inning a single from Dawson Estep got the bats rolling. Caden Mason and Jacob Dill would reach on a single and hit by pitch, bringing Rylan Huntley to the plate who would draw an RBI walk. Parker Watts tagged an RBI sacrifice fly to give Marian the lead, and singles by Johnny Roeder and Pierson Barnes would help drive home two of the next three runs, giving Marian a 5-1 lead. 

The score held at 5-1 until the sixth inning, as Burnside took over on the mound and commanded the game. The southpaw threw three-up, three-down frames in both third and fourth inning, and worked around a hit batter in the bottom of the fifth to complete his outing with a strikeout. Marian would get runners on in both the fourth and fifth innings trying to back Burnside, but were unable to add run support until the sixth inning, when six total runs pushed across the plate. Marian posted three base hits in the sixth, with walks serving as the primary driver to score. A ground-rule double for Barnes in the scoring montage was the final highlight, helping Marian end the inning with an 11-1 lead.

IUPUC would scratch out two runs off reliever Seth Risley in the bottom of the inning as the reliever showed struggles with his command, but managed to end the inning with three strikeouts in the hitless frame. Marian scored three runs in response in the top of the seventh with RBI coming from Bryce Davenort, Roeder, and Barnes, and in the home half Risley and Jace Stoops combined to get the final three outs and close the run-rule 14-3 win.

Barnes led Marian at the plate with three hits and four RBI, and Estep and Mason each had two hits. Four Knights had two or more RBI, and Kameron Salazar drew three walks in the win. On the mound, Burnside earned his first collegiate win with five innings of one-hit baseball, striking out five batters. Risley allowed two runs in his 1.2 innings on the mound managing four strikeouts, and Stoops struckout the lone batter he faced in the game. 

Marian is next scheduled to travel to West Virginia, taking on West Virginia Tech in a four-game series on Saturday and Sunday, February 17 and 18.

MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos and more.