INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian baseball team extended their winning ways on Saturday afternoon, bouncing back into the win column in Crossroads League play as the Knights swept their series-opening doubleheader against Goshen College. Marian's 20-1 and 3-2 victories improve the team's record on the season to 6-10, while the Knights are 3-3 in league action.

GAME 1 | Marian 20-1 Goshen | 7 Innings
Davis Enfield's pitching and Marian's offense guided a game-one victory over Goshen, as the Knights got a quick start as their ace on the staff carved through the Maple Leafs, scattering an error and a walk in the first inning. During the Knights' first trip to the plate, a Johnny Roeder bunt single sparked a five-run inning. As a team, the Knights drew three walks and two batters were hit by a pitch in the first, with the big hit coming from Josh Lamb's three-RBI double. Marian led 5-0 after the first inning.

Enfield picked up where he left off in the first inning, and retired the side in order in the second and third innings, striking out two batters in each frame. The patient approach at the plate for Marian helped them tack on three more runs in the second inning as Seth Hogg drew an RBI walk, while Kameron Salazar and Lamb followed with RBI ground outs. The Knights plated three more runs in the third inning, getting their spark from Elijah Kelly's lead-off double. Kelly would later score on a balk and Johnny Roeder scored on a wild pitch after reaching on a hit by pitch in the inning. Salazar finished the scoring as he knocked in Cole McManus on an RBI single, pushing the lead to 11 runs.

Marian's starting pitcher continued his hitless bout in the fourth inning as he retired two more batters on strikes, seeing the offense produce five more runs in the bottom half inning. Zach Bale and Hector Corona each recorded RBI with a respective fielder's choice and single, while Salazar continued his big day with a bases clearing double, driving the lead to 16-0. In the top of the fifth inning, Enfield saw his no-hitter snap, as he allowed a lead-off double to Curtis Huffman. Goshen would scratch a run off Marian in the inning as a one-out single drove in Huffman, but Enfield remained composed adding another strikeout before ending the frame with a 16-1 lead.

Zach Bale and Aidan Holtzapple combined to drive in three runs in the fifth inning, and in the sixth Calvin Miller hit his first career home run, winning a nine-pitch at bat with his solo home run to right field. Miller's home run capped the scoring at 20 runs, as Marian scored one or more runs in each inning of the game. Eli Loichinger would pitch the final two innings of the game, allowing one single against five strikeouts, including the final four batters he faced. 

18 different Knights were used in the game, and three of the 16 hitters utilized had two hits, with Roeder, Corona, and Salazar each collecting the pair of hits. Salazar led the team with RBI with six, while Lamb had four in the win. Johhny Roeder scored four times, with Cole McManus, Bale, Corona, and Kelly touching the plate three times each. Enfield moved to 2-2 on the mound with the win, allowing two hits and one run in five innings of work. Marian's pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts in 21 outs of baseball.

GAME 2 | Marian 3-2 Goshen
Game two was a pitcher's battle, as Logan Drook toed the rubber against Eric Pettipiece. Both men worked quickly to start the game, as just one batter reached safely through the first two innings of play, with a Zach Bale single in the first inning coming as the first hit of the contest. In the third inning Drook faced his share of adversity as he hit his second batter of the inning on a wild pitch, but was able to entrust his defense as a bunt and fly ball were smothered for the second and third outs.

In the home half of the third inning Marian was able to break the shutout as they drew the first score against Pettipiece. A lead-off bunt single from Elijah Kelly started the frame, with the sophomore eventually swiping second to get to scoring position. With two outs, Cole McManus delivered a timely RBI single to center field, pushing in the first run of the day. Drook took the lead and pitched a flawless fourth, but failed to get run support in the home half despite Josh Lamb doubling and stealing third to get into easy scoring position.

Drook's strong start quietly ended in the fifth inning, as the starter got tagged for a one-out double, giving up his first hit of the game. Three consecutive walks would allow Goshen to tie the game, and knock the Drook out of the game as Mitchell Porter came in out of the bullpen. Porter yielded a single to his first batter, conceding the lead, but remained locked in the game as he forced an inning-ending double play to limit the damage.

In the bottom of the fifth the Knights manufactured a run, taking advantage of a fielding error on Johnny Roeder's ball hit to third base. Cole McManus followed with a single to move his fellow outfielder to get to third base, and Zach Bale finished the job with a sacrifice fly, leveling the game at two runs each. Porter remained in the game in the top of the sixth, and found himself in trouble as Chase Smith doubled and reached third on a wild pitch. The reliever would bounce back as he recorded a strikeout against Fernando Santana, and followed up by tagging out Smith at the plate after a pitch got away from Max Steffen.

Jace Stoops would finish the sixth inning on the mound, and after forcing a flyout the Knights offense went back to work, getting a lead-off single from Hector Corona. The Knights again manufactured a run as Josh Lamb dropped a sacrifice bunt to get the freshman over to second, with Corona coming in to score on a single sent up the middle by Kameron Salazar. The go-ahead single gave Marian a 3-2 lead, which would be all Stoops' needed to close the game. The senior reliever struckout the side in the top of the seventh inning, closing out Marian's victory and sealing the series opening sweep with the tying run standing on second base.

Stoops (2-0) was credited the win, picking up the final four outs as he notched three strikeouts. Drook struck out three batters in 4.1 innings as the starter, allowing one hit and three walks with two runs scoring. Porter would allow two hits in 1.1 innings of relief, giving up zero runs. McManus and Bale led the Knights at the plate as each recorded two hits, and Salazar went 1-3 in the win, hitting the go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning. 

Marian and Goshen will finish their series on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch of the doubleheader from MU Ballpark coming at 1:00 p.m.

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