INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian baseball team landed its second top-25 win of the season on Friday afternoon in game one of the team's doubleheader against No. 24 Huntington, coming from behind to walk off the Foresters 12-11 on a River Pecina ground-rule single. Marian would come up one run short in the second game of the twin bill, losing 6-5, snapping the team's decade-best 10-game winning streak. Marian is 15-4 and 9-1 in Crossroads League play following the loss. 

Game One | Marian 12-11 Huntington
Marian struck first in the opening game of the series, getting a pair of scoreless innings from Chris Adams to set the tone before driving in a run in the bottom of the second. The first run of the game came on an RBI double from Tate Bender, who roped a ball deep in right-center field to score Cole McManus, after the designated hitter led off the inning with a four-pitch walk.

The 1-0 lead would be Marian's only lead of the game until the final inning, as Huntington struck big in the top of the third. Adams, who had already had issues with walks in the first two frames, gave up a pair of free passes to the first two batters he faced before yielding an RBI single to Jace Fowler. After two more walks, Adams faced a bases-loaded jam and did not win the matchup as he allowed a grand slam to Owen Willard, seeing the ball leave the park to make the game a 6-1 score. 

Marian did not wait long to start the comeback, responding in the same tone that Adams did. The Knights' pitcher threw a pair of emphatic strikeouts to get out of the third, and in the home half, River Pecina continued his massive week as he launched a three-run home run, scoring Landon Sarkey and Hector Corona to get back within two. The game would stay scoreless in the fourth after the home run with Adams responding with a clean frame, but in the fifth, the senior was tagged for three runs, allowing three base hits before exiting the game. Adams left one out to get in the fifth inning, which reliever Kaeb Stebbins picked up with an inning-ending strikeout. 

Huntington held its 9-4 edge until the sixth inning, when the Knights were able to claw back with three runs. A double from Tate Bender led off the big inning, with the freshman eventually scoring on Landon Sarkey's fielder's choice that knocked out starter RJ Anglin. Hector Corona quickly attacked reliever Keegan Shovlain with an RBI single, and Sarkey would reach home later in the inning on a failed pickoff attempt, making it a 9-7 contest. 

The Foresters would respond in the top of the seventh and push its lead to four runs again, getting a pair of doubles against Stebbins to take an 11-7 advantage. The game quickly moved to the bottom of the eighth after the pair of Huntington runs, with both Stebbins and Shovlain logging three-up, three-down innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Marian was able to scratch back two runs, as Landon Sarkey homered to right field, bringing the Knights back within a pair of runs after his long ball against new reliever Aidan Micinski. Stebbins would keep the game at two runs, and gave Marian a chance entering the bottom of the ninth, trailing 11-9.

In the final frame, Ty Jarvis got Marian rolling as he was hit by a pitch against closer Dylan Eggl. Jarvis was lifted for his courtesy runner, Judah Hennessy, with the junior rounding to third on a pair of wild pitches. Tate Bender walked behind Jarvis to give Marian two aboard, and Nathan Pinarski followed Bender with an RBI groundout, scoring the courtesy. The inning continued as Brayden Coffey and Landon Sarkey earned free passes from the wild closer Eggl, and Hector Corona would level the game as he ripped an RBI fielder's choice into left field, making it an 11-11 game with two outs. Down to the final out, River Pecina roped a 2-2 fast ball into deep center field, clearing the fence on the hop as his ground-rule single drove home Sarkey from second base, giving Marian a walk-off 12-11 victory. 

Pecina was the hero of game one, going 4-6 with a home run and four RBI, hitting his first career walk-off. Landon Sarkey went 3-5 in the win and scored four times, driving in three runs with his home run. Tate Bender and Brayden Coffey each had two-hit games, with both of Bender's landing in for doubles.

On the hill, Stebbins (3-0) earned the win in relief, pitching 4.1 innings of two-run ball out of the bullpen. Stebbins struck out three in his second win of the season. Chris Adams took a no-decision, allowing nine runs and six hits. The team's leader in strikeouts finished the game with eight K's on the afternoon. 

Game Two | Marian 5-6 Huntington
The Knights would not share the same fortune in the second act on Friday, as Evan Cooke took the loss in a tightly contested game. The junior allowed an unearned run in the first inning as a pair of passed balls allowed a lead-off single to cross the plate, while later in the third inning, Cooke surrendered two singles, with the second being a Cam Clarkson RBI base hit.

The pair of innings allowed Huntington to take a 2-0 lead on Marian, who struggled to get going offensively against Max Engle. Marian stranded a single in the first inning, while in the second, the team went down in order. Marian would respond with a run in the bottom of the third inning, as Brayden Coffey singled with one out, and following Landon Sarkey's base knock, River Pecina clipped an RBI base hit to make it a 2-1 game. 

The run got Cooke back into the flow of the game, as he retired the side in order with three straight groundouts to Coffey at shortstop. Cooke would then strike out the side in the fifth inning to carry the 2-1 score, and in the home half, Marian had a chance to strike after Brayden Coffey tripled, but the junior would later be thrown out at the plate. In the top of the sixth inning, Huntington extended its lead, as Cooke allowed a pinch-hit, three-run home run to Owen Imel, putting the visitors in front 5-1.

Marian would claw a run back in the bottom of the sixth as Johnny Roeder plated Hector Corona, but in the ensuing frame, Huntington added the score to their ledger as Cam Clarkson ripped an RBI single off Brady Armstrong. The exchange of runs saw Marian trailing 6-2 entering the bottom of the seventh.

The Knights would make things interesting in the final half inning as two men reached in front of Cole McManus, with the senior shooting a ball out of the park, hitting a clutch three-run home run to make it a one-run game. McManus made the score and forced a pitching change to Gabe Hamrick, who quickly got Zach Bale to fly out to the deepest part of MU Ballpark, with Bale missing a game-tying home run by the width of the warning track. Hector Corona would follow the flyout with a single to give Marian hope, but the dream was shattered as Hamrick got Roeder to go down on strikes, ending the game in a 6-5 defeat.

In the loss, Marian collected 10 base hits, with Coffey and Sarkey combining for five in the top two spots of the order. Corona finished the game with two hits, and McManus had a team-high three RBI. Cooke (3-1) took the loss on the hill, allowing five hits and five runs, three of which were earned. Cooke pitched eight strikeouts in the loss, and walked a season-low one batter. 

Marian and Huntington will resume the series on Saturday afternoon, game one of the day is set for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch. 

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