WINONA LAKE, Ind. - For the eighth time this season and sixth in Crossroads League play, the Marian baseball team has picked up a series win, as the Knights completed their four-game sweep over Grace College on Monday afternoon with wins of 13-8 and 7-3. Marian's late-game magic in game four improved the team to 34-11 overall on the season, and 24-6 in Crossroads League play.

Game One | Marian 13-8 Grace
Marian's offense starred early on Monday afternoon, scoring four runs in the first two innings to capture a quick lead on the Lancers. Zach Bale drove in Marian's first run on a sacrifice fly that scored Landon Sarkey, while in the second inning, Brayden Coffey slugged home three runs with a home run to right field, bringing in Johnny Roeder and Judah Hennessy to give the Knights a 4-0 lead. 

The early runs provided a spark to Seth Hogg, who was dominant on the mound for Marian in his six innings of work. Hogg retired the side in order in the first inning on seven pitches, while in the second frame, he picked up a strikeout in a quick half inning. Grace would put up its first run of the afternoon against Hogg in the bottom of the third inning with an Ian Wilson solo home run on the first pitch of the inning, but the junior starter rebounded with three consecutive outs to hold Marian on top 4-1. 

The offense would roar back for Marian in the top of the fourth inning, as the Knights drove in four runs on four base hits and two walks. Ty Jarvis and Johnny Roeder drew walks to set up the base hits, with Landon Sarkey delivering the first RBI hit with his single. Zach Bale singled in a run with two outs to add to the lead, and Elijah Kelly smacked a two-run double to give Marian an 8-1 lead. Hogg followed the half inning by striking out the side, and after seeing Sarkey pick up an RBI single in the top of the fifth, the junior retired two more batters on strikes to carry a 9-1 lead to the sixth.

A walk and a pair of wild pitches would burn Hogg in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Grace was able to manufacture a run against the Knights' starter without a base hit to scratch out their second run. Hogg stopped the scoring at one run in the inning, exiting the game in a 9-2 lead. 

Grace would threaten Marian's hold on the game as the Knights turned the game over to the bullpen, scoring at least one run on each of the three relievers Marian employed over the final three innings. The Lancers scratched two against Cecil Prather in the bottom of the seventh to make the game a 9-4 contest, but Marian would get the runs right back in the top of the eighth on RBI hits from Zach Bale and Tate Bender. Grace clawed out a run in the home half of the eighth against Brady Armstrong to make the game an 11-5 contest.

The Knights put the finishing touches on their scoring in the top of the ninth as Brayden Coffey launched his second home run of the game with a solo shot to left, and Aidan Holtzapple delivered an RBI single in the frame to make the score 13-5. Grace would make things interesting late as they scored three unearned runs against Aiden Kerr in the bottom of the ninth, but Kerr ended the game with three men on with a flyout to center field, ending the afternoon in a 13-8 victory.

Hogg (7-2) was brilliant in his outing, pitching 6.0 innings with one hit and two runs allowed. Hogg put an additional two men on by way of a walk and hit batter, but managed to record eight strikeouts in 18 outs of baseball. At the plate, Coffey headlined the win with two home runs in his 3-6 game, scoring three runs while logging four RBI from the lead-off spot. Landon Sarkey finished the game 4-5 with two RBI, and Ty Jarvis and Zach Bale each had a pair of base hits. 

Game Two | Marian 7-3 Grace
After the offense put up video game numbers in the first three games of the series, the Knights were held in check in the series finale, going five consecutive innings to open the second contest Monday without a base knock. The team's lone base runner through five innings came by way of a Cole McManus hit by pitch in the top of the third inning, leaving Marian searching for answers at the plate. 

While the bats struggled, the defense managed to hold the game in a low-scoring battle, trusting starter Eli Loichinger to lead the team. Loichinger pitched a scoreless first inning and came one out away from getting out of the second clean, but allowed a two-out home run to Darl Gustin to give Grace a 1-0 lead. Loichinger retired the side in order in the third inning as he rebounded from the home run, but in the fourth, the sophomore was battered by singles, giving up a pair of runs as the Knights fell behind 3-0. Marian's starter came back after the pair of runs were scored with a scoreless frame in the fifth, holding the game at its 3-0 count.

In the sixth inning, Marian finally broke out of its drought, getting their first hit of the game on Aiden Kerr's lead-off single. Kerr's courtesy runner, Judah Hennessy, moved up to third base as Nathan Pinarski and Brayden Coffey were walked, and after the free passes, Landon Sarkey delivered the team's first score with his sacrifice fly. Two batters after the sacrifice, Hector Corona stepped in with a bases-loaded situation, doubling to left on his first pitch of the at-bat to tie the game 3-3. Tate Bender would follow another two hitters later with an RBI single, and after Cole McManus reached on a walk, Kerr delivered his second base hit of the inning, plating a pair with his RBI knock to give Marian its 7-3 lead.

With a lead at hand, Marian's pitching staff confidently finished out the game, starting with Loichinger finishing his start with a scoreless sixth to keep the game in a four-run advantage. In the bottom of the seventh, the Knights turned the game over to Kaeb Stebbins, who picked up a strikeout against one of the four batters faced in closing out the 7-3 victory. 

Aiden Kerr, the man who started and finished Marian's rally in the sixth inning, was the hero of the game, going a team-best 2-3 with two RBI. Tate Bender and Hector Corona each had two RBI in the win. On the mound, Eli Loichinger (8-1) won his team-leading eighth game, pitching 6.0 innings with five hits and three runs allowed, two of those earned. 

Marian's wins on Monday keep them in the hunt for the Crossroads League regular season championship, as the Knights need to win each of their final four games to capture the title. In their way, the current No. 1 team in the country is Taylor University. Games one and two against Taylor will be played on Thursday, April 23, starting at 2:00 p.m.

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