INDIANAPOLIS - A Thursday for the ages at MU Ballpark saw the highest of highs, and late heartbreak for the Marian baseball team, as Marian opened their doubleheader with a lopsided 17-8 win over No. 1 Taylor, before falling in game two 6-5 in a 12-inning marathon. Marian's game one win gives the team its first-ever win over the top team in the country. The Knights end the day with a record of 35-12 overall and 27-6 in the Crossroads League.
Game One | No. 24 Marian 17-8 No. 1 Taylor
Pitching won the first inning as
Evan Cooke and Brody Fine exchanged scoreless innings, but the same could not be said in the second, as both the Knights and Trojans got hot at the dish. Cooke was able to get two outs as he worked around a base-loaded situation, but could not get the final out, as a Fletcher Roemmich triple to center field sparked a rally, scoring three of six runs. A pair of RBI singles would push in three more Taylor runs, giving the Trojans a 6-0 lead.
Marian battled back in the home half, rallying with a lead-off walk from
Zach Bale and a double from
Tate Bender. After
Cole McManus drew a walk, the spark clicked for the Knights, as Bale scored on a wild pitch to score the first run.
Nathan Pinarski flared an RBI groundout to add another to Marian's total, and
Brayden Coffey kept the rally alive with an RBI single. Three batters later, after a hit batter and a walk, Taylor changed pitchers to Gage Gongwer, and the change ignited the Knights, as
Hector Corona belted a grand slam to left-center, pushing Marian on top 7-6.
The rally put Marian in the lead for good, as
Evan Cooke battled through two scoreless innings in the third and fourth, protecting the one-run lead. The Knights gave the pitching staff run support in the bottom of the fourth inning as
Zach Bale legged out an inside-the-park home run, plating three runs to extend the lead to four on a 10-6 count. The lead would be more than enough for Marian, but it continued to grow, as
Nathan Pinarski scored on an error in the fifth to make the game an 11-6 count.
Kaeb Stebbins took over on the hill in the fifth inning and stranded two runners in his first frame of relief, and in the sixth, he survived a solo home run, keeping Marian on top by four. The Knights battled back for two runs in the bottom of the sixth as
Ty Jarvis drew an RBI walk, and
Elijah Kelly ripped an RBI sacrifice fly, extending the lead to six. Taylor would add to their count in the top of the eighth after a scoreless seventh inning passed, but it would not be enough to overcome Marian's command of the game. In the bottom of the eighth inning,
Zach Bale launched a first-pitch solo shot to left-center, and three batters later,
Ty Jarvis left the yard with a two-run home run, pushing Marian on top by eight.
River Pecina put the final dagger in the Trojans, roping a sacrifice fly to give Marian a 17-8 lead.
In the ninth inning,
Aiden Kerr faced four batters, locking down the win after stranding a single, closing out the Knights' first-ever win against the top-ranked team in the NAIA.
Marian's 17-8 victory was highlighted by
Zach Bale's 3-4 performance at the plate, as he homered twice and drove in four runs.
Hector Corona had a four-RBI game thanks to his grand slam, and
Ty Jarvis finished the afternoon 2-4 with three RBI and a walk.
On the mound,
Kaeb Stebbins scored the win in relief, moving to 5-0 on the season after pitching 4.0 innings out of the bullpen. Stebbins allowed three hits and two runs in his outing, striking out four.
Evan Cooke received a no-decision, allowing five hits and six runs in his start. Cooke managed to retire seven batters on strikes in the game.
Game Two | No. 24 Marian 5-6 No. 1 Taylor | 12 Innings
The nightcap against Taylor started as an early slugfest, and then ended in a pitchers' duel, as the Trojans opened the game with three runs against
Chris Adams in the top of the first inning. A wild double play ended the first inning to get Adams out of trouble, and in the bottom of the first inning, a pair of walks set up the offense, as
Zach Bale recorded an RBI sacrifice fly to put Marian on the board.
Tate Bender and
Aiden Kerr followed with RBI singles, tying the game 3-3 after one complete frame.
Adams loaded a pair of strikeouts in the second inning and fired a scoreless third inning, moving the game at a quick pace into the home half of the third.
River Pecina opened the third inning with a monstrous home run to center field, leading off the inning with his 17th home run to give the Knights a 4-3 lead. Pecina's home run tied Marian's single-season record and knocked starter Wes Hunt out of the game. The Knights loaded the bases after the home run but came up without a run, leading 4-3 after three complete.
The game remained 4-3 after a scoreless frame from Adams in the top of the fourth, while in the bottom of the fourth, a pair of base hits were spoiled as Jake Boyer forced a double play to work out of the inning. Taylor rallied in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game 4-4 on a sacrifice fly, but Marian came roaring back in the bottom half, getting a lead-off home run from
Zach Bale to reclaim the lead. The contest would fall back to a stalemate in the top of the sixth inning, as Jordan Malott homered off Adams on the first pitch of the inning, leveling the score 5-5.
Adams finished his outing with two strikeouts and a groundout, and turned the game over to
Jack Peine. Peine worked out of a jam in the top of the seventh inning, but the Knights were unable to ride the emotion with a game-winning hit, as
Tate Bender was stranded in the seventh to force extra innings.
Peine and Nathan Frady would duel until the 12th inning, with neither pitcher giving in. Marian's reliever stranded two in the eighth as he got a pair of strikeouts, while scattering a single in the ninth. Marian had a chance to win in the bottom of the eighth and tenth innings as they got runners in scoring position in each frame, but Taylor's closer was too strong in the moment, retiring the side each time.
Jack Peine continued to roll as the game prolonged, marching through a scoreless 11th inning, moving into the 12th after Marian came up scoreless. In the top of the 12th, Peine hit the lead off batter and saw the runner move to third on a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch, ultimately allowing a single to Nate Simpson that pushed in the go-ahead run. Marian responded early in the bottom of the 12th as they looked to extend the game with
Hector Corona ripping a single, but after moving into second base, a pop-up off of
Aiden Kerr's bat would end the game, seeing Marian fall in extra innings 6-5.
The game extended to five extra frames, the longest contest of the season for the Knights.
River Pecina and
Aiden Kerr each finished 3-6 in the loss, with Pecina homering and doubling.
Tate Bender went 2-5 on the game, and four other Knights each had one base hit. On the mound,
Chris Adams took a no-decision in his final home start as a Knight, pitching 6.0 innings with five hits and five runs allowed. Adams retired six batters on strikes.
Jack Peine (1-2) took the loss, pitching a career-high 6.0 innings, all in relief. Peine yielded one run and four hits, striking out a career-high seven against five walks.
Marian will play for the No. 2 seed in the Crossroads League standings on Saturday afternoon, needing a win or a loss from Huntington to secure the position. Marian and Taylor end the regular season at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, with the team's senior day doubleheader to be held 30 minutes following game one.
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