New Albany, Ind. - The Marian baseball team had its four-game road winning streak snapped on Wednesday afternoon, as the Knights saw a late lead expire in the eighth inning, while a ninth inning rally against No. 23 IU-Southeast was not enough as the team fell by a 14-12 final. Marian slides to 26-10 overall on the season following the ranked road defeat. 

Wednesday's game began with 11 consecutive outs, as pitching headlined early with Kaeb Stebbins and Kevin Moore duking it out with scoreless first innings. Moore retired Marian in order in the top of the second, and after Stebbins picked up his first two outs, the Grenadiers came to life, roping four hits in six batters hang four on the board. A groundout would end the inning, along with Stebbins' outing, as Marian trailed 4-0.

The Knights responded with a big third inning, taking advantage of Moore at the plate with strong pitch discipline. Tate Bender, Ty Jarvis, Braden Coffey, and Landon Sarkey each walked, with Sarkey's free pass bringing home the team's first run. River Pecina followed the walk-fest and was hit by a pitch to bring in a run, while Hector Corona would bat in a third on a fielder's choice, bringing Marian back within a score.

Mitchell Porter relieved Stebbins in the third and held the game in check, pitching a scoreless third frame before allowing one run in the fourth. Porter was able to work out of trouble in a frame in which he allowed two hits and a walk, ending the inning on a fielder's choice to keep his team within two runs. Marian would get the scores back for the fifth-year pitcher in a hurry, plating three in the top of the fifth as Johnny Roeder sparked the team with a lead-off double. Brayden Coffey roped a single to center to score Roeder, and two batters later, River Pecina tattooed his 14th home run of the season to left field, giving Marian a 6-5 lead.

Porter retired the side in order in the bottom of the fifth to keep Marian on top, and in the top of the sixth, the lead grew by four. Roeder again led off the frame with a double, and after walks to Coffey and Sarkey, Pecina again grooved a pitch out and over the left field wall, launching a grand slam to give Marian a 10-5 lead. The Grenadiers would threaten the lead as they picked up an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, but Porter was able to slam the door in the inning with a strikeout, holding a four-run cushion going into the seventh.

The lead would continue to shrink in the seventh inning, as Marian was unable to produce a run to the Grenadiers' two. IU-Southeast plated their two runs on three base hits against Aden Burnside, who made quick work of his first two batters in his first outing of the year before allowing three consecutive knocks into the outfield. Brady Armstrong would close out the inning to keep the Knights on top 10-8, but in the bottom of the eighth, the Grenadiers revved their engines again, tying the game with a two-RBI single against new reliever Jack Peine. IU-Southeast continued to put men on base after tying the game, and with two outs in the frame, Gabe Yonto hit a grand slam to right, giving the home team a 14-10 lead.

Marian did its best to rally in the ninth inning as Hector Corona and Zach Bale drew lead-off walks, eventually setting up Tate Bender, as the freshman drove in a pair with a two-run single. With Bender at first representing the tying run behind Cole McManus at third, the Knights gave Aiden Kerr a shot to extend the game, but the young catcher would ground into an untimely double-play, ending the game with Marian on the losing side of a 14-12 battle.

Wednesday's game showed the largest difference in base hits in a game this season, as the Knights were out-hit 16-6 in the road loss. Pecina led the Knights' offense with his 2-4 outing, homering on each of his hits to take the Crossroads League lead with his 14th and 15th home runs of the season. Pecina ended Wednesday fifth in the NAIA in home runs (15) and fourth in RBI (59), leading the CL in both. Johnny Roeder was 2-3 with two runs scored as he doubled twice, and Brayden Coffey scored three runs, reaching base three times in his 1-3 game. 

Peine (0-1) would take the loss from the pitcher's mound, taking his first collegiate decision after yielding six runs on four hits in his inning of work. Mitchell Porter had Marian's top outing on the hill, pitching four competitive innings with five hits and two runs allowed, striking out five of the 19 batters he faced. The senior threw a season-high 81 pitches. 

Marian returns home after playing its last six on the road, hosting Bethel on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Both doubleheaders in this weekend's series begin at 1:00 p.m.

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