Marian University Ind.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - In another tightly-contested postseason baseball game, the Marian baseball team came up empty on Tuesday afternoon, with the Knights suffering a 1-0 defeat against four-seed UNOH. Marian's season that saw the return to the NAIA Opening Round for the first time since 2019 comes to a close with a 35-18 overall record.

A pitcher's duel headlined the elimination contest on Tuesday morning, as Evan Cooke and Zach Cabell traded scoreless frames for five innings to open the game. Cooke began the game by walking the leadoff batter but quickly rebounded with two strikeouts to pitch a scoreless opening frame. Cooke would pick up another strikeout in a three-up, three-down second inning, while in the third, the starter faced the minimum by picking off a runner and notching a fourth strikeout.

Cooke struck out another batter in the fourth inning to bring his total to five on the day, keeping a scoreless battle brewing for the Knights' bats.

Marian's offense started stagnant on Tuesday, needing three innings to adjust to Cabell's arm. The Racer pitcher struck out the side in the first inning, and stranded Marian's first base runner of the game in the second inning after Zach Bale reached on an error. Cabell would retire Marian in order in the third inning, but in the fourth, the Knights mustered their first rally of the day, getting a two-out walk from Hector Corona. Zach Bale followed with a double into right field, but an inning-ending strikeout followed the team's first hit, stranding two in scoring position.

Evan Cooke ran into trouble in the fifth inning, walking a pair of batters in the frame. A pair of flyouts helped the junior starter get the first two outs, while a strikeout against Jake Watson allowed Cooke to pitch out of the jam, ending his outing after his fifth hitless inning of work.

The Knights again picked up a base runner in the fifth inning as Cole McManus singled, but the bats were unable to string together a go-ahead base knock as the game continued its scoreless deadlock. Marian was primed to score in the sixth inning as River Pecina and Hector Corona both walked and slid into scoring position on a passed ball, but a hard hit grounder from Elijah Kelly against reliever Ryan Yingst ended the rally effort.

After Cooke's departure, Marian turned the game over to Kaeb Stebbins in the sixth, and the freshman managed to survive the first UNOH base hit of the game, as a one-out single was left on base following a pair of one-pitch outs. In the seventh inning, the Racers managed to manufacture the game's first and only run, stacking a pair of lead-off singles against Stebbins. A sacrifice bunt moved both runners to scoring position, and despite the infield playing in, a grounder from Tyler Huff that spike high in the sky after clipping the plate managed to score a run, as Tate Bender made the second out at first base. Stebbins scored a strikeout to end the inning, as Marian trailed 1-0.

UNOH turned the game over to reliever Noah Curi to finish the game, and the lefty pitcher challenged Marian in each of the final three innings. Johnny Roeder picked up a single in the bottom of the seventh, but the team could not pick up any additional base runners after the hit. Curi would retire the Knights in order in the eighth inning, keeping a shutout intact for UNOH going into the final inning.

Chris Adams kept Marian in the game after entering the game to pitch in the eighth inning, tossing the final two innings of the game. Adams struck out three batters looking in the eighth inning after allowing a walk and a hit batter, while in the ninth, the fifth-year senior kept the game a 1-0 affair by striking out two more batters.

Down to their final three outs of the season, Marian gained a runner with two outs as Johnny Roeder drew a walk, but his pinch-runner, Nathan Pinarski, would not get to second safely, as Aiden Kerr ripped a hard line drive that was caught by the third baseman for the final out of the game, ending the season in a 1-0 defeat. 

Marian was limited to three hits in the season finale, with Bale, McManus, and Roeder picking up one each. Corona reached base twice with a pair of walks in the defeat. On the mound, Cooke finished the game with no hits allowed in 5.0 innings of work, walking four and striking out six. Adams ended the game with five strikeouts to bring his career total to 288, pitching two scoreless innings. Stebbins (5-2) was on the losing end of the decision, allowing the game's only run over his two innings of work, allowing the three Racer base hits. 

Marian's season ends with a decade-best 35 victories, logging the most wins in a single season since the 1993 campaign. The Knights broke multiple program records during the season, along with seeing a pair of individual marks be reset. A program on the rise, the NAIA Tournament appearance for Marian is one that will highlight the beginning of Marian's ascension in the NAIA ranks in the coming years. 

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