Mount Vernon, Ohio - The Marian baseball team picked up its eighth single-day sweep of the season on Friday, as the offense headlined a pair of double-digit scoring games, with the Knights defeating Mount Vernon Nazarene 13-3 and 12-4. The pair of seven-inning victories improves the Knights to 24-9 overall on the season and 17-5 in the Crossroads League.

Game One | Marian 13-3 Mount Vernon | 7 Innings
The first game on Friday belonged to Brayden Coffey, as the junior starred from the first at-bat, tripling to right field to lead off the game. Landon Sarkey picked up an RBI  on a groundout to give the Knights a quick 1-0 lead, and later in the first half inning of the game, Cole McManus and Tate Bender racked up an RBI base knock.

The 3-0 lead would be more than enough for Evan Cooke to work with, as he started the morning strong with a scoreless first inning, stranding a runner with an inning-ending strikeout. Cooke then picked up two more strikeouts in a scoreless second, and gained two more runs of support in the third, with Coffey singling home Judah Hennessy and Cole McManus to make it a 5-0 contest.

The Cougars would rough up Cooke for two runs in the bottom of the third inning as the junior yielded a pair of hits and walked two batters, but the defense behind the pitcher made the final out to limit the offense. The game would remain 5-2 until the fifth inning, when the Knights broke open the scoreboard once again, picking up the first set of runs in the frame on a home run from Brayden Coffey. Zach Bale would drive in a run with two outs on an RBI single, pushing Marian ahead 8-2. Mount Vernon would retaliate in the home half of the fifth with a run, as Kaid Carpenter laid a two-out double on Cooke's totals, bringing the game to an 8-3 count.

Cooke ended the fifth inning with a strikeout, and in the sixth inning, the offense continued to hang runs, getting two more on an RBI base hit from Brayden Coffey. The single made the game a 10-3 affair, and the half inning would end with the Knights on top 11-3, as Hector Corona plated a run on an RBI walk.

Jack Peine pitched a scoreless sixth inning as he relieved Cooke, and in the top of the seventh, Marian put the game away, as Ty Jarvis brought home McManus and Nathan Pinarski scored Hennessy. The 13-3 margin after the two runs would stand as the final score of the game, as Peine struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to close out a run-rule win in game one of the series.

Coffey headlined the game at the plate, as the shortstop was a double short of the cycle in his 4-6 game, tripling and homering to bring in six runs. McManus and Jarvis each had two hits in the win, and Pinarski finished the day 1-2 with a run and three walks. Marian plated 14 base hits in the game one win.

Cooke (5-1) earned the win on the hill, allowing four hits and three runs in five innings of work. Cooke struck out seven hitters in his outing, and Peine struck out the side in each of his two scoreless innings, ending the game with a total of six K's.

Game Two | Marian 12-4 Mount Vernon
The second act of the day started in the opposite setting, with Mount Vernon getting the early jump on the Knights, as three consecutive base hits brought home three Cougar runners. Chris Adams settled after the three hits and ended the top of the first with a strikeout, and followed with a scoreless second inning that stranded a Mount Vernon base runner.

Marian plated its first run of the game in the top of the third inning as River Pecina charged a sacrifice fly to score Brayden Coffey, bringing the Knights within two. Adams tossed another scoreless frame in the ensuing home side, and in the fourth, Marian got one run closer as Zach Bale crushed a lead-off home run. The game moved into the fifth after Adams pitched a scoreless home side, with the score showing 3-2 after four complete.

In the fifth inning, Marian took full control of the game, as the bats blasted three home runs in a six-hit inning. Tate Bender and Brayden Coffey opened the inning with back-to-back solo home runs, and after Landon Sarkey singled, River Pecina launched a two-run home run to left, vaulting the Knights on top 6-3. Zach Bale would double in a run two batters later, and Johnny Roeder capped the six-run frame with an RBI single, giving Marian an 8-3 edge. 

Adams would end his outing with another scoreless frame in the fifth, and after the pitcher exited, the offense put up three more runs in the next inning, with Pecina, Hector Corona, and Aiden Kerr roping RBI base hits. Marian led 11-3 after the attack from the offense, allowing the Knights to turn the game over to Mitchell Porter. 

Porter tossed a perfect sixth inning, and saw the offense give the pitching staff another run to work with in the seventh as Nathan Pinarski hit a pinch-hit RBI single to score Roeder. Mount Vernon would get the run back from Porter in the bottom of the seventh, but it would not cause a late-game rally, as the senior pitcher forced a game-ending double play to close out Marian's 12-4 victory.

Marian racked up 16 base hits in the game two win, and were led by Landon Sarkey's 3-3 outing in which he scored two runs. Pecina, Bale, and Bender each homered in their two-hit games, while Pecina led the team with four RBI. Hector Corona and Brayden Coffey each had two hits in the win. 

On the mound, Adams (5-2) earned his fourth Crossroads League win of the season, striking out five in 5.0 innings of work. Adams allowed six hits and three runs in his outing. Porter allowed a run and three hits in 2.0 innings of work, appearing in his team-leading 11th game of the season.

The Knights and Cougars will continue the series on Saturday at 11:00 a.m., as they begin the third game of the weekend in Ohio.

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