Upland, Ind. - The Marian baseball team ended the regular season on a losing note, as the Knights were swept in their final games at Taylor Friday night. The 13-3 and 6-3 defeats drop the Knights to 23-26 on the year, as they finish the Crossroads League season with an 18-18 overall record.
GAME 1 | Marian 3-13 Taylor | 7 Innings
Game three of the series began in a tight battle, with the Trojans throwing the first punch as they plated two against
Eli Loichinger in the bottom of the first inning. Marian immediately countered in the top of the second inning, as
Josh Lamb singled to lead off the inning before
Nathan Pinarski delivered his first career home run, tying the score. The sophomore's long ball tied the game 2-2, and in the bottom half inning, the freshman Loichinger picked up two strikeouts to move the game into the third inning.
In the third inning, Taylor retired the Knights in order, doubling their score in the ensuing half inning as a sacrifice fly and RBI single pushed the home score to four.
Calvin Miller drew a walk in the fourth inning, but the two-out free pass was unable to muster a rally. The Trojans scratched two more runs off the Marian freshman in the bottom of the fourth, but the lead would be dented in the top of the fifth, as
Max Steffen recorded a sacrifice fly to bring in
Dawson Estep, seeing the score after 4.5 innings a 6-3 Taylor lead.
The bottom of the fifth inning would be the end of Marian's good fortune, as Taylor loaded the bases on a pair of hits and a walk, ending Loichinger's outing.
Jace Stoops came in to clean up the inning, allowing two of his inherited runners to score before getting a strikeout and groundout to retire the side. Marian was unable to pick up a base runner in the top of the sixth, and in the bottom of the sixth Stoops saw his first three earned runs of the conference season score, with Taylor making the game a one-sided 11-3 affair. The Knights were once again retired in order in the top of the seventh, and in the bottom half inning the Trojans scored two runs off
Seth Risley with a Fletcher Roemmich base hit, walking off Marian by a 13-3 final.
Marian was four-hit in the loss, with
Kameron Salazar,
Josh Lamb,
Nathan Pinarski, and
Dawson Estep picking up one each. Pinarski had two of the team's three RBI in the loss. Loichinger (3-3) took the loss after allowing 13 hits and eight runs in four-plus innings, throwing 98 pitches in the game. The freshman recorded six strikeouts in the loss.
Jace Stoops pitched two innings, walking four batters while hitting two with three runs allowed.
GAME 2 | Marian 3-6 Taylor
The regular season finale was the tightest game in the series, as Marian attempted to get on the board early with a first inning hit from
Zach Bale, however the one-out hit was unable to produce a scoring threat. Taylor chalked their first two runs of the game in the bottom of the first against
Damien Wallace, as the starter got off to a strong start before allowing a two-run, two-out home run to Brayden Manning. The Knights looked to get on the board in the top of the second as
Max Steffen and
Nathan Pinarski walked to put runners on the corners, putting runners on the corners and force a pitching change. Pinarski would steal second, however a pair of pop outs ended Marian's threat and kept the game a 2-0 score.
After allowing his first inning runs, Wallace settled in and grooved through the second inning, retiring the side in order. The senior allowed a pair of base runners in the bottom of the third after the Knights were retired in order, but stood tall on the hill with an inning-ending fly out. Marian picked up their second hit of the game in the top of the fourth as Elijah Kelley singled with two outs and Pinarski managed to draw a walk, however, a strikeout would close the rally effort. Taylor used the momentum from the inning-ending strikeout in the bottom of the fourth, picking up a pair of two-out triples against Wallace to help drive home three runs, making the game a 5-0 contest.
In the top of the fifth inning, Marian finally broke their drought on the board, as a
Jacob Dill single and
Zach Bale walk set up
Dawson Estep. The senior third baseman homered to right field with his two teammates on, putting pressure on Taylor as he cut the difference to two runs. Wallace pitched through the fifth inning and again recorded two outs, but could not get out of the inning as an RBI single extended the Taylor lead to three runs.
Over the final two innings, the Knights would put one man on base, but were unable to score as
Elijah Kelly's single was picked off in an inning-ending double play.
Jayson Cottrell pitched a shutout sixth inning, and in the seventh Taylor retired the Knights in order, closing the 6-3 game.
Kelly went 2-2 with a sacrifice hit to lead the Knights at the plate in his multi-hit game, while Estep had the big blow with his home run and three RBI. Wallace (1-4) took the loss after pitching five complete innings, giving up eight hits and six runs. Cottrell allowed one hit in his inning of relief, notching one of the team's three strikeouts.
The Knights will now await their final placement in the Crossroads League standings, and await the results of Mount Vernon and Huntington on Saturday. Marian will either by the No. 5 or No. 6 team in the upcoming Crossroads League Tournament, and will play in the play-in game on Wednesday, April 30. All games of the CL Tournament will take place at Indiana Wesleyan University.
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