Huntington, Ind. - The Marian baseball team played to a split against Huntington on Thursday, taking game one from the Foresters in a comeback effort before tripping up in a game two defeat. Marian enters the final two games of the regular season with a 22-23 overall record and a 17-17 record in the Crossroads League.

Game 1 | Marian 6-4 Huntington
The scoring started early for both teams in Thursday's doubleheader, with the Knights driving home a run their first trip to the plate. Josh Lamb doubled in the opening at bat of the game, and after Kameron Salazar reached on an error, a Bryce Davenport sacrifice fly would bring home the first score on the day. Huntington retaliated in the home half of the frame, as Davis Enfield surrendered three consecutive base hits to open the game, with a triple and single delivering the Foresters' first scores. The Marian pitcher would gain composure and end the inning with two men on base, picking up back to back strikeouts to keep the score 2-1.

Enfield recovered after his first inning of work as he tossed back-to-back scoreless innings, picking up a pair of strikeouts in the second as he stranded a runner, while in the third a swing and a miss ended a three-up, three-down frame. Marian would get a runner on base in the second and fourth inning but came up dry in tying the game, allowing Huntington to pad their lead as a solo home run from Dylan Rost pushed the home score to three. Enfield settled allowing the home run and recorded the three outs in four batters to clean the fourth, while the starter stranded a two-out single in the fifth inning to keep the game a 3-1 contest.

The Knights threatened again in the sixth inning as Rylan Huntley singled and stole a base to get into scoring position, and moved up another 90 feet as Pierson Barnes reached on a dropped third strike. A groundout would end the opportunity as Marian left two runners on, and in the home half Huntington expanded their lead by a run as an unearned run crossed the plate to make it a 4-1 game. 

Trailing by three, Marian started to mount a comeback in the seventh, as a lead-off double from Jacob Dill came in to score on an RBI single from Josh Lamb. Jayson Cottrell held the Foresters to just a three-batter appearance in the bottom of the inning, and in the top of the eighth the bats charged up two runs on three hits, as a two-out double from the catcher Dill brought home Johnny Roeder and Pierson Barnes, leveling the score at 4-4.

Cottrell would pitch another scoreless inning in the eighth, and in the top of the ninth Marian managed to load the bases. Caden Mason was hit by a pitch to start the frame and was followed on the base paths by Josh Lamb's single. A balk would move the runners into scoring position, and after a pair of groundouts Bryce Davenport was intentionally walked, setting up Barnes who dropped a two-RBI base hit to left to take the lead. The inning would end with the Knights on top 6-4, and in the Foresters' final trip to the plate, Cottrell shut down the home team, allowing a soft single as Marian completed the comeback win.

In the win the Knights put up 10 base hits, with Lamb leading the way going 3-4 with two runs and an RBI. Huntley, Roeder, and Dill each had two hits, while Barnes had the 10th and final hit, delivering the game-winning RBI. Enfield took his second no-decision in as many starts, allowing four runs on eight hits with a season-high 11 strikeouts. Cottrell recorded his sixth win of the year, all in relief, throwing the final three innings with two strikeouts and one hit allowed. Cottrell is now 6-1, leading all Crossroads League pitchers with wins in relief.

Game 2 | Marian 1-6 Huntington
Game two went in favor of Huntington, as they managed to score the game's first run in the opening inning as a pair of stolen bases and an error allowed Greg Berroa to score, as he singled to record the first hit off starter Chris Adams. Adams would see two more runners reach base before the inning concluded, but got a flyout to hold the contest at 1-0. 

It would take Marian until the third inning to get their offense started, doing so with a bang as Dawson Estep doubled to lead the inning. Josh Lamb poked a single up the middle to move the infielder to third, setting up Kameron Salazar who recorded an RBI sacrifice fly to tie the game. The draw did not stick long though, as Huntington responded with three runs in the bottom of the third, roughing up the Marian pitcher for three hits, two of which were doubles. Both sides were retired in order in the fourth inning, as the score held at 4-1 after four complete.

In the top of the fifth Marian threatened as they brought three different runners on base, as Max Steffen reached on a single and Caden Mason and Josh Lamb touched first after getting hit by a pitch and an error. To the Knights despise, Steffen's courtesy runner Nathan Pinarski was caught stealing, and the inning ended with runners on the corners as Salazar grounded out to second base. Huntington tacked two more to their lead in bottom of the fifth, as Justin Johnson allowed two inherited runs from Adams to score, making it a 6-1 game.

The Knights would manage three base hits in their final two trips to the plate, but came up short of scoring as they would fall 6-1. In the sixth Rylan Huntley's single was left by the wayside, while in the seventh hits from Dawson Estep and Caden Mason weren't enough to keep the run alive.

Adams took the loss on the mound, throwing four-plus innings as he allowed six runs and five hits. Adams managed eight strikeouts in the game. Johnson gave up two hits in two innings of relief work. At the plate, Estep led the team going 2-3, while five other players had one base hit. 

Marian and Huntington will wrap up their series on Saturday afternoon, playing game one of the doubleheader at 1:00 p.m.

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