NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. - The Marist baseball team won the first game of its doubleheader against Niagara on Saturday, prevailing by a score of 7-2. However, the Red Foxes suffered a 4-1 loss to the Purple Eagles in the second game.
The Red Foxes now stand at 19-24 overall and 8-12 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play. Marist must win its last four conference games and receive help in order to qualify for the conference tournament.
Junior left-hander Josh Rickards (Glenolden, Pa.) turned in another strong pitching performance for the Red Foxes in the first game. Rickards went seven innings, giving up seven hits, two runs and two walks while striking out five. Rickards improved his record to 4-5 while lowering his ERA to 2.71. Junior right-hander Jacob Wiley (Cape Vincent, N.Y.) pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth to earn his third save of the season.
Sophomore shortstop Richard Curylo (Staten Island, N.Y.) had two RBIs in the first game, and red-shirt junior first baseman Kenny Anderson (Randolph, N.J.) drove in three for the Red Foxes. Junior third baseman Kyle Meyer (East Greenbush, N.Y.) had a pair of hits and a pair of runs scored.
Marist got on the board first in game one, scoring in the top of the second when Anderson came home on an RBI single by red-shirt freshman catcher Bryce Nugent (Binghamton, N.Y.). The Red Foxes added two more runs in the third on a two-run single by Anderson, making it 3-0. After Niagara scored a pair of runs in the fifth to cut Marist's lead to one, Anderson's sacrifice fly in the seventh gave the Red Foxes a 4-2 advantage.
Marist broke the game open in the eighth on an RBI double by Meyer and a two-run single by Curylo.
Left-hander Michael Kellar (2-4) took the loss for Niagara, allowing three runs in 4.2 innings of work.
In game two, Niagara starter Daniel Morari (6-4) went all the way, allowing just four hits while allowing just one unearned run. The Red Foxes scored their lone run in the top of the first when Meyer, who had reached with a leadoff walk, scored on a passed ball. Morari retired the last eight batters he faced.
Marist maintained that 1-0 lead until the fourth, when the Purple Eagles erupted for three runs. Niagara added a single run in the fifth to make it 4-1.
Sophomore right-hander Richard Cary (Binghamton, N.Y.) took the loss for Marist, falling to 6-2 on the season. Cary allowed all four Niagara runs, three of which were earned, in 4.1 innings. He was relieved by sophomore lefty Stephen Peterson (Danvers, Mass.), who was not charged with a run in 1.2 innings.
Junior right fielder Brian McDonough (Hanover, Mass.) had two of the Red Foxes' four hits in the contest.
Niagara now stands at 20-25 overall, and is tied for Marist for sixth in the MAAC with an 8-12 conference mark.
Marist and Niagara will conclude their three-game series with a single game on Sunday at noon. The Red Foxes will then return home for their final four games of the regular season, a non-conference contest against James Madison on Wednesday followed by a three-game series against conference rival Siena on Thursday and Friday. The Red Foxes and Saints will play a doubleheader Thursday followed by a single game Friday.
