Dayton, Tenn. - The Marian baseball team completed its first series of the 2026 season with a bang on Saturday, locking down a four-game sweep over Bryan College as the Knights took games three and four of the series to begin the season 4-0. Marian won the first game of the day 12-9, while Seth Hogg pitched a complete game shutout in the Knights' 1-0 game two win. 

GAME 1 | Marian 12-9 Bryan
In the third game of the series, the Knights' offense continued to be strong early, wasting little time to get on the board as the team scored a pair of runs in the first. Using a patient approach, a pair of walks and hit batters, coupled with a Landon Sarkey base hit, helped draw the 2-0 lead. Eli Loichinger backed the lead in the home half, stranding two runners as the sophomore logged a scoreless first frame.

The second inning would not fare in the way of Loichinger, as the Lions were able to scratch the young pitcher for four runs. A trifecta of extra-base hits, including a three-run home run, gave Bryan a 4-2 lead before the second inning's conclusion. Loichinger got out of the jam with a pop-up, and returned calmly in the third, shaking off two hits to end the inning with a pair of Lions in scoring position.

Marian's offense found its firepower in the fourth inning, getting a one-out single from Johnny Roeder to wake up the bats. Ty Jarvis launched his second collegiate home run following the Roeder single to tie the game 4-4, and following a pitching change, Elijah Kelly barreled a solo home run to right field, giving Marian the lead once more. Hector Corona continued his strong weekend and the team's big inning with an RBI double, ending the top of the fourth with Marian in front 6-4. 

Loichinger would cruise through his final two innings, allowing one man to reach base as he picked up three strikeouts against the final seven batters faced. Marian extended the lead in the top of the fifth inning, scoring the first of three runs on an Elijah Kelly sacrifice fly. Bradyen Coffey followed with a sacrifice fly of his own, and Hector Corona finished the charge with an RBI single. The Knights struck again in the sixth inning, pushing the lead to six runs as Johnny Roeder's RBI double made the game a 10-4 affair. 

The Knights turned the game over to freshman Kaeb Stebbins in the sixth inning, and the young pitcher had to work through early struggles, walking two of the first four batters faced in his career, while a single would load the bases. Bryan scored two runs over the next two batters as an RBI groundout and an error plated the scores. Stebbins would get out of the inning with a 10-6 lead, registering his second strikeout to preserve the advantage. Stebbins would proceed to pitch a flawless seventh inning, and gained a run of support in the eighth thanks to River Pecina's lead-off home run, but in the home half a three-run home run allowed by the freshman brought life to Bryan. The rookie reliever managed to get a strikeout and pop up to end the inning, keeping Marian in the lead 11-9.

Looking for insurance, the Knights scratched a 12th run in the top of the ninth, getting an RBI single from Judah Hennessy to score Brayden Coffey and provide a three-run cushion. Hennessy's first collegiate single gave Marian a 12-9 lead, which would be enough for freshman relief pitcher Aiden Kerr. Kerr made his pitching debut, and locked down the win in the ninth, brushing off two singles before getting back-to-back strikeouts to close out the 12-9 win.

Game one was another offensive showcase for Marian, hitting three home runs and a total of 14 base hits. Hector Corona led the way with a 3-5 game and two RBI, while Elijah Kelly and Ty Jarvis each had two RBI. Johnny Roeder and Landon Sarkey each had two hits and two runs scored in the win. On the mound, Eli Loichinger (1-0) earned the win, throwing five innings with eight hits allowed and four earned runs. Loichinger struck out four in the win, as did Kaeb Stebbins, who pitched three innings of relief and allowed five total runs, four earned. Aiden Kerr earned his first collegiate save, striking out two to end the game.

GAME 2 | Marian 1-0 Bryan
After a high-octane pace was set in games 1-3, offense was at a premium in the weekend finale, as a total of three hits were manufactured in game four between the two teams. Marian was able to strike first as Brayden Coffey scored on a wild pitch, reaching base on a walk to open the game. In the second inning, Marian looked to repeat the success as Nathan Pinarski drew a walk and stole second, ultimately reaching third before a strikeout would end the inning. 

Marian's offense stayed quiet in the third as the side was retired in order by Bryan and in the fourth inning a walk drawn by Calvin Miller went by without damage being done to the scoreboard. Landon Sarkey was able to snap Bryan's no-hit bid in the top of the fifth inning with a two-out double, but a rally cry was unable to follow, as the Lions ended the inning with the freshman on second.

With the offense stalling, the Knights relied on pitcher Seth Hogg to keep the team on top, as Marian's ace of the 2025 season, before an injury derailed his campaign, made his return to the mound. Hogg was nearly lights-out in the first inning, as a double play allowed him to face the minimum after yielding a one-out single. The junior was dominant again in the second and third, retiring the side in order in each frame to enter the fourth nine-up, nine-down. Bryan again struggled to keep up with Hogg in the fourth as he tossed a pair of strikeouts in a three-batter frame, while in the fifth, the junior pitched out of a jam with the help of his defense, stranding a pair of base runners. 

Marian would go down in order in the sixth, and in the home half, the Lions had one of their best opportunities to strike, as the first hitter of the inning reached on an error. Hogg remained confident on the mound, picking up a flyout and strikeout as the lead-off man stole second. Looking to strand the tying run, Hogg forced a groundout to Coffey at short, keeping a 1-0 score intact going into the seventh. 

After Marian went down in order in the top of the seventh, the Knights turned the ball back to Hogg to complete his game in the home half. Hogg quickly picked up a strikeout and line out to left, needing one out to cap his outing. Getting ahead in the count early, Hogg froze the final hitter of the game on a looking strikeout, ending the weekend series with a sweep as the junior completed his 1-0 shutout.

Hogg (1-0) allowed a total of four base runners to reach in the series finale, allowing two hits and a walk as he logged a shutout win. The junior pitcher struckout six batters, and threw 87 total pitches in the win. At the plate, it was Landon Sarkey logging Marian's only base hit, doubling in the fifth inning. Hector Corona was one of three Knights to record a stolen base, and Brayden Coffey scored the game-winning run, crossing the plate in the first inning of the game.

Marian will be off next weekend, resetting themselves before traveling to Florida to play No. 3 Southeastern in a four-game series on February 20 and 21. 

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