WINONA LAKE, Ind. - The Marian baseball team extended its winning streak to six consecutive games on Saturday, as the Knights swept their road doubleheader at Grace College to open their season series against the Lancers. Marian's two wins improve the team to 32-11 overall on the season, and move the Knights to 24-6 in the Crossroads League.

Game One | Marian 14-1 Grace | 7 Innings
Dominant pitching again headlined Marian's opening game of a Crossroads League series, as Evan Cooke picked up where he left off a week ago, opening Saturday's game with a lightning-fast first inning as he retired the side in order. The Marian pitcher then got all of the run support he would require in the top of the second inning, as Tate Bender roped a two-out single to set up Cole McManus, who slammed a two-run, two-out home run to right field, giving the Knights a 2-0 lead.

Cooke found a pair of strikeouts in the second inning as he retired the side in order for a second consecutive frame, but fell behind early in the third inning as consecutive doubles allowed Grace to score a quick run. The Marian starter would rebound with three consecutive outs, getting his third strikeout of the game to strand a runner and keep Marian in front 2-1.

The fourth inning would pass by scoreless, but in the fifth, Marian's offense took command, plating four runs on three hits in the inning. Brayden Coffey started the inning with a lead-off single and eventually scored on a wild pitch, and Zach Bale knocked in a run with an RBI error. Cole McManus finished the four-run inning with his RBI single, putting the Knights on top 6-1. Marian came back in the sixth inning after Cooke logged another scoreless frame with three more runs, scoring the first of the three on River Pecina's RBI double. Hector Corona then slugged in Pecina and himself after a Grace pitching change, homering to right field to give the Knights a commanding 9-1 lead.

Cooke finished his outing with a scoreless sixth inning, stranding a lead-off walk to complete his day. A strikeout for the junior helped complete his fifth scoreless inning, and in the seventh, Marian ended the afternoon early, bringing home five runs to enact the run-rule. Ty Jarvis brought home the first two runs in the seventh with his two-run homer, and later in the inning, Pecina picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly. Elijah Kelly finished the afternoon's offensive masterclass with fireworks, homering to left field in a pinch-hit role, scoring two to give Marian its commanding 14-1 lead. Brady Armstrong finished off the win in seven innings in the bottom of the seventh, notching two strikeouts as he stranded a single and completed the road victory. 

Marian's starter Cooke (6-1) shone in the win, pitching 6.0 innings on the day, allowing just two base hits. Cooke struck out eight and walked a season-low one batter in the win. At the plate, Marian put up 11 base hits, with Coffey, Landon Sarkey, and McManus each picking up two hits in the game. McManus, Corona, Jarvis, and Kelly each hit multi-RBI home runs on the day, with McManus putting up a team-best three.

Game Two | Marian 11-1 Grace
The Knights continued their offensive attack in game two of the series, scoring early and often as they pushed in runs in three of the first four innings in Saturday's nightcap. The first three runs of the day all came in the first inning, as Brayden Coffey and Tate Bender reached base ahead of River Pecina, who hammered his 16th home run of the season, giving the guests an early 3-0 lead. The bats went dormant in the second inning, but in the third, Calvin Miller made sure to add to the lead, as he doubled in Judah Hennessy and Zach Bale to take a 5-0 edge. Tate Bender tacked on another run in the fourth inning with a solo home run, giving Marian a one-sided six-run edge.

As the offense headlined early, Chris Adams and the defense made sure to match on the other side, as Marian's senior starter was strong in his 10th start of the season. The senior struck out two batters in a scoreless first inning, while in the second, Adams left two men on in scoring position as he recorded his third and fourth strikeouts of the day. Adams would face trouble in the third as a walk and double put two men on in scoring position with one out, but the senior dug in, getting a fly out and a strikeout to strand the pair. 

Adams would finish his outing with two more scoreless innings, striking out four of his final seven batters faced to carry a shutout into the sixth inning. Jack Peine took over from there and logged a scoreless frame as he stranded a double, and in the top of the seventh, Marian's offense hit paydirt again, bringing home five runs. A pinch-hit triple from Elijah Kelly sparked the inning, and after a walk to River Pecina and a hit by pitch drawn by Ty Jarvis, Zach Bale doubled in two runs to make it an 8-0 lead. Three batters after the double, Johnny Roeder delivered the game's final damaging blow, homering to left field to give Marian a resounding 11-0 lead.

Grace would score a run in the bottom of the seventh inning as Peine allowed a pair of walks to load the bases, eventually getting two groundouts to complete Marian's 11-1 road victory. 

Tate Bender had a strong game to lead the offense, going 3-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored in the win. Zach Bale doubled twice in his 2-4 game, and Johnny Roeder and River Pecina each had one hit, with the base knock being a three-run home run for each outfielder. Adams (7-2) earned his seventh win of the season in his 11th appearance, pitching 5.0 scoreless innings on Saturday. Adams retired nine on strikes, allowing two hits and walking four on the day. 

Marian and Grace will resume the series at 1:00 p.m. in Winona Lake. Marian needs to win both games to stay in the hunt for the Crossroads League regular season title, sitting four games back on No. 1 Taylor in the loss column. 

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