GOSHEN, Ind. - The Marian baseball team had their best offensive day of the season Sunday afternoon, as the Knights scored at will on Goshen College in their Crossroads League sweep of the Maple Leafs, winning 30-2 in game one before ending the day with a 14-5 victory. Marian has won six consecutive games to improve to 11-3 on the season and 6-0 in league play. Marian's 30-run performance in game one set a modern-era record for runs in a game scored by the Knights. 

Game One | Marian 30-2 Goshen | 7 Innings
Although the offense put up 30 runs in game one, Marian did play from behind on Saturday, albeit for a half inning, as Goshen was able to manufacture a run off Chris Adams in the bottom of the first inning. Adams picked up a pair of strikeouts as he worked around a hit batter, but a two-out single would help Goshen draw first blood, taking a 1-0 lead before the senior ended the frame with his third punchout.

The Knights would respond in a big way in the second inning, batting around as the team scored eight runs in the half inning. A River Pecina lead-off single started the big inning, while Ty Jarvis began the scoring with an RBI double. Tate Bender would follow suit with an RBI single after Cole McManus scored on a wild pitch, and after the freshman scored later in the frame on a wild pitch, Landon Sarkey and Hector Corona charged RBI singles through the infield. Pecina batted for a second time in the inning and made Goshen pay as he hammered a two-run home run to center field, giving the Knights an 8-1 lead after nine total outs of baseball.

Goshen would manage to bring home one more run off Adams in the bottom of the second as the senior saw a one-out walk score after two errors took place in the infield. Adams would finish the inning with consecutive strikeouts as he retired the side himself in each of the first two frames, and after a perfect third inning, the senior saw his offense provide another crooked number in the fourth. Brayden Coffey kicked off a seven-run fourth inning with his lead-off double, eventually scoring on a Sarkey sacrifice fly, and Pecina hit his second home run of the day, this time another two-run shot as he followed Hector Corona's base hit. Roman Utterback drew a pinch-hit RBI walk as the inning progressed, and Nathan Pinarski plated two more with his RBI single. Marian led 15-2 after four trips to the plate.

Adams would pitch two more scoreless innings before ending his game, and gained another run of support as Pecina scored on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth inning. As the senior pitcher exited the game, the offense put up one last big inning, scoring 14 runs in the top of the sixth inning. Highlights of the monstrous inning included grand slams for both Cole McManus and Landon Sarkey, while River Pecina had a two-RBI double in the inning. Marian continued to drive home runs after Sarkey's bomb, as Aidan Holtzapple ripped a pinch-hit, three-run blast to center for his first homer of the season, giving Marian a lopsided 30-2 lead after the top of the sixth concluded. 

With the game at hand, the Knights turned to Cecil Prather for the final six outs of play, and the reliever had strong work, pitching two scoreless innings to cap the run-rule, 30-2 victory. Prather struck out three batters and allowed one hit in his relief appearance to end the team's win.

Adams (3-1, 2-0) picked up the win on the hill, striking out a season-best 10 batters in the game. The senior saw seven runners reach base, three of which were hits, and allowed two runs, one of which was unearned. At the plate, Marian matched their season-high with 19 hits as a team, while scoring a modern-era record 30 runs in the win. River Pecina dominated at the dish, going a perfect 6-6 with six RBI and six runs scored, homering twice and doubling once. Landon Sarkey had six RBI in his 2-5 outing, while Cole McManus went 2-3 with a home run, four RBI, and three runs scored. Nathan Pinarski, Hector Corona, Judah Hennessy, and Calvin Miller each scored three runs in the win, and Ty Jarvis doubled twice in a 2-3 game. 

Game Two | Marian 14-5 Goshen
Marian did not wait long in game two to strike, immediately getting on the board in the top of the first inning as Hector Corona logged an RBI double, while Aiden Kerr picked up a sacrifice fly, scoring Corona for the quick 2-0 start. In the second inning, Marian brought home three more as Johnny Roeder scored on a wild pitch, and Landon Sarkey delivered two runs with his RBI base hit. 

The Knights led 5-0 entering the bottom of the second, and Evan Cooke started strong for the defense, retiring the side in order in the first inning as he picked up a pair of strikeouts. The starter quickly got two strikeouts in the second inning, but allowed a solo home run that extended the frame, eventually stranding two Maple Leaf runners with his third strikeout in the half inning. Marian would get the run back with two more in the top of the third inning, as Johnny Roeder plated River Pecina with an RBI double, and Judah Hennessy recorded a sacrifice fly, pushing the Knights in front 7-1.

Cooke would strikeout another hitter in the third as he benefited from a double play to strand a pair of walks, but in the fourth, Goshen would work the Marian starter, drawing two walks and working the count with a hit by pitch and single, bringing in a second run in the game. Cooke would eventually strand the bases and move the game into the fifth with the Knights on top 8-2, but in the bottom of the fifth, his outing would end, as an error and one-out single forced a call to the bullpen. The pitch-count induced change brought out Mitchell Porter from the bullpen, who needed a pair of batters to settle in as an RBI fielder's choice and sacrifice fly saw Goshen score two runs before the senior ended the frame with back-to-back strikeouts. 

The game stood at 8-4 after Goshen's pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth, but for the first time in the game, no runs would score in the sixth, as the Knights left a man stranded and the Maple Leafs were retired in order on strikes by Porter. Marian would regain form at the plate with another big inning, ripping six hits to score six runs in the final visiting runs of the game. Hector Corona drove home the first two runs with his two-out single, while Aiden Kerr had the big swing of the inning, belting a three-run home run. Johnny Roeder would hit a home run as Goshen brought in a position player to end the inning, taking the Knights in front 14-4.

In the last half inning, Goshen would pick up three hits off Porter with two outs that scored a run, but the senior negated the rally with a groundout to second, closing out Marian's 14-5 victory in the second game of the doubleheader.

Cooke (3-0, 2-0) earned the win on the mound, pitching four-plus innings of four-hit ball. The junior recorded a season-high eight strikeouts, while walking five and allowing four runs, two of which were earned. Porter was credited with a save in his outing, allowing three hits and one run as the reliever struck out a career-high six batters. Marian picked up 17 more base hits as a team in game two's win, getting a game-high four from Landon Sarkey, who finished 4-5 with three RBI. Kerr had a team-high four RBI in his 2-4 game, and Roeder finished 3-4, scoring three times and picking up two RBI as he homered in the victory.

Marian and Goshen will conclude the series on Monday afternoon, starting game three of the series at 12:00 p.m.

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