INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian baseball team won their fourth Crossroads League series of the season on Monday afternoon, taking game one in a split doubleheader against Bethel University. Marian's game one win recorded the 21st victory of the season, as Marian is now 21-18 overall and 16-12 in Crossroads League play following the two games.

Game 1 | Marian 12-1 Bethel | 7 Innings
Marian wasted little time in the opening game of the day getting their offense started, as the Knights poured in 10 runs over the first two innings against Bethel's Riley Thomas. A walk to Kameron Salazar in the first inning started the offense, with Pierson Barnes posting an RBI single four batters later to give Marian a lead. Dawson Estep followed with a two-RBI double, and Max Steffen recorded an RBI with his single, capping the four-run surge with two outs.

In the second inning, a lead-off single for Caden Mason got the Knights rolling, with the bases loading following Rylan Huntley and Salazar taking free passes. Mason scored on a wild pitch to add to the lead, and Bryce Davenport recorded an RBI sacrifice fly to score the team's sixth run. After a pitching change was forced, Marian continued to hammer runs, with Steffen poking a two-RBI single through the middle. Dawson Estep scored on a wild pitch, and Johnny Roeder recorded an RBI single, closing Marian's big inning with a 10-0 lead.

The lead was more than enough for Marian's starter Davis Enfield, who had another strong start on the mound. The righty faced the minimum in the first inning as his catcher Steffen caught a runner stealing after a base hit, and in the second the pitcher retired the side in order. Enfield would struggle slightly in the third inning, as a pair of base hits and error allowed the Pilots to bring home their first run of the day, but the redshirt-junior halted the bleeding with an inning-ending strikeout. Enfield would go on to surrender a pair of base hits in the fourth and one in the fifth, but the Pilots were unable to record a timely hit past Marian's defense as the lead stayed at nine.

In the bottom of the fifth Marian tacked on two more runs to their lead, making up for struggles in the fourth inning as they left the bases loaded. Marian's fifth inning offense started with two outs as Josh Lamb drew a walk, scoring on a double from Bryce Davenport. Davenport would come around to score on an error off the bat of Pierson Barnes, capping the team's scoring at 12 runs. 

A double play boosted Enfield's life on the mound in the sixth inning, as Pierson Barnes, Estep, and Davenport connected on a 9-5-3 double play, retiring the lead-off double allowed by the starting pitcher. A pop up would end Bethel's trip to the plate in the sixth inning, and in the seventh the Pilots sent four batters to the plate against Justin Johnson, with the southpaw pitcher stranding a two-out walk to close Marian's 12-1 win.

Enfield had seven hits and allowed an unearned run in the win, moving to 3-0 on the season. Enfield retired five batters on the strikeout in the win. Offensively, Marian had 10 base hits and drew seven walks, with Estep having the best individual performance with a three-double game. Steffen had two of the team's nine RBI, going 2-4 in the win.

Game 2 | Marian 3-6 Bethel
Seth Hogg got the nod in game two, and got off to a strong start in the first inning before surrendering a run in the second, giving up a solo home run to Jacob Sitterly. Marian answered the home run with three runs in the bottom of the third inning, getting two singles from Dawson Estep and Max Steffen, both of whom scored on Caden Mason's two-RBI double. Mason and Rylan Huntley traded places as the shortstop followed up with an RBI double of his own, pushing Marian in the lead with a 3-1 edge.

The lead did not last long, as Hogg began to struggle on the mound in the third inning. Bethel roped three consecutive hits that scored two runs to tie the game, while a fourth hit and walk later loaded the bases. Garrett West was called on to replace his fellow classmate, but faced similar struggles as he attempted to record the final outs in the third, giving up two hits and a bases-loaded walk that scored three more runs for the Pilots. West was able to the exit the inning without allowing one of his own runners to score, as Marian trailed 6-3.

The 6-3 score would hold for the remainder of the game, as Bethel's Ty Mickiewicz slowed down the Knights offense over their final five trips to the plate. A single for Bryce Davenport in the third inning would result without a score as the first baseman was back-picked by the Pilots catcher, and in the fourth Marian was retired in order. Marian would get the offense going in the fifth inning as Caden Mason and Kameron Salazar reached with base hits, but were left stranded at second and third as the Knights came away without a timely hit. 

Jace Stoops kept Marian in the game with three scoreless innings, allowing four runners total to reach in his time on the mound. While the reliever helped keep Bethel in check, Mickiewicz shut down any chance of a Marian comeback, pitching the Knights into inning-ending double plays in both the sixth and seventh innings, ending the afternoon with a Bethel win.

The Knights had eight base hits in the series finale, with Mason having the team's lone two-hit game. Mason had two RBI in the loss, with Huntley recording the team's other RBI. Hoog would suffer the loss on the mound as he fell to 4-2 on the year, lasing 2.1 innings with five hits and six runs allowed. West did not allow his own runs to score as he gave up two hits in 1.2 innings, and Stoops lasted three innings, striking out four batters against two walks. 

Marian will end their home season on Thursday and Saturday, as they host Taylor University. Thursday's doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m., while Saturday's senior day will begin at 1:00 p.m.

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