LAKE MYRTLE, FL – Competing outside for the first time this year, big innings and miscues cost the University of Mary baseball team in their season debut as Gannon University swept the Marauders 9-5 and 11-2.
Gannon, with ten games already under its belt, scored multiple runs in five innings, posting 18 of the Knights 20 runs in those five stanzas. Ten of Gannon's 20 runs were unearned on the day as UMary committed six errors.
Travis Stevens and
Seth Siverson paced the Marauders offense. Stevens was 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and four walks. Siverson was 3-for-6 with three runs scored and one RBI. He was also hit by a pitch.
GAME 1 Gannon 9 UMary 5
The Marauders scored first and last but the Knights controlled the middle with a trio of 3-run innings.
UMary scored first when Will Pettner grounded a two-out single through the left side.
Nick McCann followed with a single up the middle before
Cody Ghents laced a run-scoring base hit to plate Pettner.
The Knights immediately retaliated with three runs in the bottom of the second, assisted by a Marauders error that led to two of the runs being unearned.
The Marauders quickly closed the gap to 3-2 on a
Darius Barlas single to score Siverson, who led off the top of the third inning with a base hit.
Three more runs for the Knights in both the third and the fifth pushed the Gannon advantage to 9-2 before UMary began to rally in the top of the seventh. Siverson and
Jesus Payan both stroked run-scoring singles before a Barlas groundout brought home a third Marauders run to close the gap to 9-5. A Gannon pitching change soon dashed the UMary hopes as Cory Hegedus retired the next two Marauders to finish of the win for the Knights.
Siverson finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI to headline the Marauders offense. UMary's nine hits were spread out among eight starters. Barlas posted two RBIs.
Elijah Quiceno led Gannon with three hits. Dominic Mori and Matt Oruch both scored twice.
GAME TWO Gannon 11 UMary 4
In a virtual replay of the opener, the Marauders again scored first but an immediate response by the Knights forced UMary to fight from behind the rest of the contest.
Keeping a hot bat, Siverson laced a 1-out single in the bottom of the first and moved to second on a walk by Stevens. After a double steal, the Marauders second baseman scored on a balk by the Knights for a quick 1-0 lead.
Between four hits, two walks and a hit batter, the Knights crossed the plate five times in the second inning. Gannon added another run in the fourth to build a 6-1 advantage.
UMary cut its deficit in half with a pair of runs in the home half of the fourth. Pettener doubled to the leftfield corner to score
Daulton Sauce and Payan to make the game 6-3.
Both teams exchanged runs in the sixth with Stevens scoring for the Marauders on a fielder's choice.
Gannon salted the contest away with four runs in the seventh.
Pettner paced the Marauder with a double and two RBIs. Stevens reached base in all three of his at bats with a hit and two walks. He also scored a run.
Matt Oruch led Gannon with two hits, two runs and two RBIs. Austin O'Shei scored twice and drove in two runs.
The Marauders return to the diamond with games against Saint Anselm and Ashland on Saturday, March 3, in Winter Haven FL. The Saint Anselm game is slated for 8 AM CST with the Ashland game commencing around 11:30 AM CST.
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