TUCSON, Ariz. (SabreAthletics.com) - When "Opening Day" finally comes around it's usually filled with nerves and excitement. Marian's doubleheader on opening day had plenty of both as they swept Bethany Lutheran, 6-5 and 9-3 on Thursday, March 13.
It took almost three innings for the Sabres to score their first runs of the 2014 season, but seniorSam Forkert was able to keep the Vikings in check, throwing four scoreless innings to open game one of the twin-bill. Junior Jordan DeBoer put his first stamp on the season in the bottom of the third, driving in sophomore Cole Miklavcic from second base on the single.
Marian would add a second run after a leadoff triple from Casey Schreiner and sacrifice fly from sophomore Adam Ryan. The two-run lead failed to fluster Bethany Lutheran, as the Vikings returned with a strong top-half of the fifth.
The Vikings chased Forkert from the fifth after scoring two and loading the bases. Sophomore Earl Vorpagel entered in relief, but was unable to slow the bleeding as Bethany Lutheran scored two more runs to take a 4-2 lead.
After adding an insurance run in their half of the sixth, Marian returned with back-to-back-to-back doubles from senior Chad Langley, Schreiner, and Ryan, to mount their comeback. The Sabres would score three times in the sixth to tie the game at five.
"First game of the year there are going to be times when you fall behind," Langley said. "But we stayed positive and we came out with the win."
A scoreless seventh from Bethany Lutheran provided the Sabres with the opportunity to be heroes on opening day.
Sophomore Ty Gellinger kicked his motoro into high gear, belting out a triple to the right-field wall. With the game-winning run 90 feet away, DeBoer stepped to the plate ripped a single into left field to drive in Gellinger and give the Sabres the walk-off victory, 6-5.
"Gelly had a good piece to right-center and it set me up perfectly," DeBoer said. "All I had to do was hit something hard with the barrel with the infield playing in and I was lucky enough to see a pitch up and drive it where I needed to."
In game two, senior Brandon Winfield toed the rubber for the Sabres and proceeded to throw five strong innings, striking out four batters and allowing one walk. It wasn't until Winfield departed with the 3-2 lead, though, that the Sabre bats came back to life.
"I try to work backwards sometimes with how I pitch," Winfield said. "Curveball felt good and I felt like I got stronger as I went deeper in the game."
Langley led off with a single in the top of the sixth, followed by a single from Schreiner. With two on and nobody out, Ryan reached base on an error with Langley and Schreiner scoring on the play. The Sabres would go on to rip off six more hits and score four more runs en route to a six-run inning and a 9-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Junior Brett Barger came on in reflief for Winfield and pitched two solid innings from the bullpen. Barger allowed three hits and struck out one while preserving the Marian lead, handing them their second win of the day.
"I told the guys, I thought today was the hardest day for us down here, just adjusting to playing on a real field," Head Coach Jason Bartelt said. "Without a doubt it was two quality wins for us."
Thursday marked the third consecutive year where Marian won their first game of the season, dating back to 2012. It was also the second-straight year in which the Sabres completed a doubleheader sweep of their opponent.
Marian will continue their spring trip on Friday night, as they play Macalester College. Friday will be the first game of the season for the Scots, who finished 2013 with an 11-28 record.
First pitch is set for 7 p.m. CDT. Catch the radio broadcast on SabreVision (http://tiny.cc/SabreVision).