INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian baseball team swept the Cougars of Mount Vernon Nazarene in a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon to open the season series, taking game one 8-3 before fighting off the rain to in a 1-0 game two victory. Marian moves to 18-16 overall and 14-8 in the Crossroads League with the pair of wins. 

GAME 1 | Marian 8-3 Mount Vernon Nazarene
Both the Knights and Cougars scored in the opening inning of game one, with the Cougars scratching an unearned run off Davis Enfield on an RBI ground out. Enfield managed to strand a double in scoring position with an inning-ending strikeout, and in the home half saw his offense get the run back as Kameron Salazar and Cole McManus roped back to back singles to lead off the home side. Hector Corona recorded an RBI fielder's choice to knock in Salazar, bringing the game to an even 1-1 score. 

Enfield and Chase Storr exchanged scoreless second innings, and in the third the scoring sparked for both teams once again. A pair of one-out walks from Davis Enfield allowed the Cougars to scratch a go-ahead run on Brady Lester's RBI single, allowing the guests to carry a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the third. In the ensuing half inning, Hector Corona drew a lead-off walk, coming around to score on an RBI single from Dawson Estep. Estep reached third on a series of wild pitches and walks, eventually scoring as Salazar was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Estep's run gave Marian a 3-2 lead entering the fourth inning.

Pitching took over for both teams in the middle innings of the game, with Marian and Mount Vernon getting shutout on the board in the fourth and fifth innings. Enfield and the combination of Storr and Maxwell Donawa from Mount Vernon limited base running opportunities, keeping the score a contested 3-2 game. Following a strong inning from Davis Enfield in the sixth, the Knights got an offensive spark in the bottom half, as Calvin Miller plated three runs with two outs on a home run to dead center, jolting Marian into a 6-2 lead.

Chris Adams took over in the seventh inning and allowed a run as walks plagued the reliever early, however the fourth-year pitcher limited the damage with an inning-ending strikeout. Adams picked up another strikeout in the eighth as he stranded a one-out single, and in the home half got his final run support of the game, with Dawson Estep knocking Donawa from the game with his towering two-run home run. Estep made the game an 8-3 score, allowing Adams to ease into the final inning. The reliever got two of the final three outs of the day on strikes to close the five-run win.

Enfield (6-2) collected his sixth win of the season in the game, going six innings of five-hit ball. Enfield allowed two runs with one earned, and struck out nine batters in six innings. Chris Adams pitched three innings and allowed five batters to reach base, collecting four strikeouts. At the plate, Dawson Estep and Jacob Dill each had multi-hit games, with Estep going 3-4 while Dill went 2-3. Estep and Calvin Miller each had three RBI in the win as the pair of lefty batters homered in the win, and Elijah Kelly doubled in his 1-3 game, drawing two walks. 

Game 2 | Marian 1-0 Mount Vernon Nazarene
Logan Drook had a strong start on the mound with only one hit given up in the first inning and no runs for the Cougars. The Knights got on the board in the bottom of the first with Kameron Salazar leading the frame with a walk, while the free pass was followed by a single from Cole McManus. Two batters later Max Steffen came to the plate, singling into center field to load the bases. Johnny Roeder drove in the Salazar following the Steffen single to plate the first run of the game, proving to be a timely RBI.

Drook was able to maintain the Knights lead defensively, allowing a hit second inning while getting out of the third inning with a double play and inning-ending ground ball to second. In his final full inning, Drook walked the second batter of the frame and gave Ryan Willoughby a free pass to third with wild pitches, but stood tall with back to back outs to end the threat. 

While Drook continued to limit Mount Vernon, the Cougars pitching staff did a number on the Knights, as Jared Hurlburt faced the minimum in the second and third innings, while in the fourth and fifth allowed just one man on base in each frame. Marian's short comings at the plate were uplifted by the pitching, as Drook pitched into the fifth retiring his first batter before turning it over to Jace Stoops. Stoops allowed a walk in both the fifth and sixth innings, but minimized the threat each time to preserve the 1-0 lead.

In the seventh inning, Stoops faced his first threat of the game as he yielded a lead-off single, which was followed by a sacrifice bunt. The senior buckled down with a groundout to short, however was unable to end the game as Grant Moore beat the shift with an infield single, seeing the tying run move to third. Elijah Kelly made a diving save to prevent the wet baseball from trickling into the outfield, and with runner's on the corners, Stoops forced a ground out to the right side, ending the 1-0 shutout victory.

Drook (1-3) earned his first win of the season in the game, pitching 4.1 shutout innings, giving up two hits while striking out three. Jace Stoops pitched closed the game on the mound, earning his second save of the season in 2.2 innings of work. At the plate, Cole McManus and Max Steffen earned the lone base hits for the Knights in the win, each going 1-3. Kameron Salazar drew two walks in the win, scoring the game's only run,  and Johnny Roeder recorded a walk in addition to driving in Salazar with his RBI fielder's choice.

The series between Marian and Mount Vernon will resume on Monday, April 7, with game one currently scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.

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