TUCSON, Ariz. (SabreAthletics.com) - The strong pitching continued for the Sabres on Friday, March 14, as Marian defeated Macalester 4-2 at the Kino Sports Complex. JuniorBryce Taylor threw seven innings of four-hit ball, striking out nine in the process.
It was Macalester who jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second, as Nick Mar scored from second on a two-out single to right field. Unlike their first two games of the season, the Marian bats were held in check for most of the night.
Senior Matt Bromley made the most of his first game this season, going 2-for-3 with two singles and two RBIs. His single in the bottom of the fourth pushed the Sabres out in front and came around to score to give Marian a 4-1 lead.
"We saw another good pitcher tonight," Bartelt said. "We didn't have a lot of opportunities but we did have one big inning and were able to piece something together and were fortunate to get four runs across the plate."
Chase Kahn kept the Sabres guessing most of the night, but his control in the fourth was what allowed Marian to get their offense going. Kahn finished with five hits, five walks, and four strikeouts over six innings from the mound.
The Scots answered back in the top of the fifth, scoring one run on a throwing error from sophomore Tyler Oren, but that would be all they could muster on the night.
Oren made up for his gaffe with two stellar snags at the hot corner, leading to two 5-4-3 double plays.
"He's never really played third before in his career," Bartelt said of Oren. "He's a good, gritty kid and he's made the most of his opportunity and has done very well for us."
Taylor was dominant on the mound, striking out nine and allowing four hits over seven innings. The Macalester batters had a difficult time adjusting between his fastball and his curveball, which resulted in many empty swings.
"Bryce just deals," Bromley said. "He's got some nasty curveballs and throws hard."
"Absolutely great performance from Bryce tonight," Bartelt said. "Coming out of the gates with his first start and we got exactly what we expected out of him."
Vorpagel came on in relief in the top of the eighth and benefited from an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play to silence the Macalester rally. He returned in the ninth and after allowing a leadoff single, set the Scots down in order to seal the win.
With the win, Marian moves to 3-0 on the year and will face Mayville State University (NAIA) tomorrow night.
"It's going to be our fourth game in three days, so we're going to change some things up and give some guys some looks," Bartelt said. "You never know what you're going to get with a NAIA school, but we're going to give them everything we've got and I'm very confident the guys will leave it out on the field."
First pitch is scheduled for 9 p.m. Catch the radio broadcast on SabreVision (http://tiny.cc/SabreVision).