INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian baseball team ended their Spring Arbor series on Saturday with a split against the Cougars, winning game one of the day 5-0 before falling in game two 7-6. Marian is 14-13 overall on the season after Saturday's games, while moving to 10-6 in the Crossroads League. 

GAME 1 | Marian 5-0 Spring Arbor
A dominant pitching performance from Seth Hogg fueled the Marian baseball team in game one, as the sophomore brought his best material of the season by facing the minimum in order in the first inning. Hogg's offense delivered early for him in the game, as Kameron Salazar led off the bottom of the opening inning with a single, scoring two batters later on Zach Bale's RBI double. Max Steffen followed with an RBI single to drive in Cole McManus, and after a walk to Josh Lamb, Hector Corona roped a sacrifice fly to score the first baseman.

The three-run inning would be all Hogg needed for support, as he cruised on the mound Saturday. The sophomore picked up a strikeout in the second inning as he stranded a walk, and in the third two strikeouts helped the pitcher strand a pair of runners in scoring position. Hogg continued to work as he scattered a Spring Arbor double in the fourth inning, while in the fifth a lead-off single was all the guests could muster in the frame. Marian's starter faced danger in the sixth inning as a one-out double was coupled with back to back walks to load the bases, however Hogg pitched Zach Adams into an inning-ending double play to get out of harm's way.

In the bottom of the sixth, Marian's offense expanded their lead, getting two runners on in front of Salazar, as the senior doubled in Johnny Roeder and Nathan Pinarski to increase the lead to five. Hogg worked his final inning in the seventh, ending his outing with back to back strikeouts as part of a three-up, three-down inning. Leading 5-0 after seven complete, the Knights turned the game over to Dylan Holmes, who had a solid relief stretch as the second-year player stranded a single in the eighth and pitched a four-batter ninth, sealing the win for Marian.

Marian racked up eight hits in the win, with Salazar leading the way with his 2-5 game. Salazar had two of the five RBI, while Steffen and Bale each had RBI base hits in the win. Hogg (2-3) collected his second win of the year on the mound, allowing four hits in seven scoreless innings while striking out seven hitters. Holmes recorded one strikeout in two innings of scoreless relief.

GAME 2 | Marian 6-7 Spring Arbor
Pitching dominated early in game two, as Damien Wallace and Trammel Lindstrom traded scoreless innings in both the first and second frames. Wallace went about his business with a perfect first inning, while stranding a double and a walk in the second, while Lindstrom stranded a runner in the first and shrugged off his walk of Josh Lamb. Marian's starter allowed a single in the third inning and saw Aiden Brunin reach third on a throwing error, but a lengthy 12-pitch strikeout of Landon Raczkowski ended the inning with a scoreless game.

The shutout broke in the home half of the third inning, as a lead-off bunt from Elijah Kelly woke up the Knights' offense. Kameron Salazar singled in Kelly for the game's first run, and two batters later Zach Bale roped an RBI single to score the second baseman. Max Steffen kept the offense humming with a single, and Josh Lamb broke up a double play with a strong hustle down the first base line, as his fielder's choice picked up an RBI to score Cole McManus. Bale scored on a wild pitch to give Marian a 4-0 lead, starting the beginning of the end for Lindstrom. A walk and hit batter would end Lindstrom's game, but with the bases loaded Spring Arbor's reliever Colin Snyder got an inning-ending strikeout to stop the scoring.

Wallace battled through a one-run fourth inning as Ryan Gonzalez's one-out triple came in to score, and in the fifth inning the starter saw command slip as a walk and triple narrowed the gap on the board. Seth Risley came on in relief with three outs to get in the inning, however the reliever struggled to find the zone, walking three straight batters to score a Cougar run. Jace Stoops entered to get out of the inning, escaping the inning but not without harm hitting, as a one-out single from Gonzalez drove in two runs, giving Spring Arbor a 5-4 edge.

Marian failed to produce a base runner in the bottom of the fifth, but after seeing Stoops pitch a perfect sixth, the offense woke back up as Elijah Kelly sparked a rally with a one-out walk. The sixth inning progressed as Kameron Salazar tied the game with an RBI double, later taking third base on a wild pitch. The senior showed his heads-up base runner skills later in the inning, racing to the plate on a passed ball that got away from the catcher Zach Adams, putting the Knights on top 6-5. 

In the seventh inning, Marian would be unable to protect their lead and lock down the win, as Stoops hit his first batter of the inning. Landon Raczkowski took advantage of an error in the outfield, taking three bases as Johnny Roeder fumbled a catch in center field. The error tied the game, and two batters later Ryan Gonzalez drove in his fellow Cougar to push across the go-ahead run. Stoops ended the inning with a fly out and strikeout, but would be unable to see his offense reclaim the lead, as Jack Will shut down the Knights allowing just one base hit in the final inning, sealing the 7-6 contest.

Salazar finished the series with a strong 3-4 day at the plate, scoring twice while driving in two runs. Bale went 2-3 in the loss with an RBI and a walk, and Lamb had a 1-3 game with one RBI and a walk drawn. On the hill, Wallace earned a no-decision, pitching four innings while allowing four hits and three of the seven runs. Risley was charged with two of the seven runs, and Stoops (3-1) allowed two runs in his 3.0 innings. Stoops took the loss, striking out three batters on the day.

Marian will go on the road for their next Crossroads League series, traveling to Indiana Wesleyan next Friday and Saturday.

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