MARION, Indiana - After pulling off the upset of No. 21-ranked Spring Arbor University on Saturday, the Marian College baseball team was looking to advance on Monday at the 2009 Mid-Central College Conference Tournament in Marion, Indiana.

 

The Knights took a quick lead in game one, but could not hold on as they fell, 5-4, in 10 innings to No. 3-seeded Huntington University. Just 40 minutes later, the Knights took on Taylor University and had little left in the tank as they fell, 8-2, to suffer elimination from the tournament. They finished the season 24-28 overall and 10-14 in MCC play.

 

The Knights opened the first game against the Foresters with three runs in the top of the first inning to take a 3-0 lead. After back-to-back singles by freshman Evan Schludecker (Indianapolis/Roncalli) and sophomore Todd Ungru (Madison, Indiana/Shawe Memorial), senior Kyle Cox (Indianapolis/Butler) hit an RBI-single to open the scoring. After Ungru scored on an error, freshman Jeff Marschand (Galveston, Indiana/Lewis Cass) hit an RBI-double to give the Knights a 3-0 lead.

 

Huntington scored one in the third, one in the fifth, and one in the sixth to tie the game, 3-3, after six innings. Neither team does anything in the seventh or the eighth, but the Knights took the lead in the top of the ninth. An RBI-single by Schludecker gave the Knights a 4-3 lead and put them in the driver's seat to move on in the tournament.

 

However, the Foresters responded in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, 4-4, and stole the victory with an RBI-single in the bottom of the 10th to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament. They also gave the Knights their first loss of the tourney.

 

Schludecker, Ungru, Cox, and freshman Jared Mills (Cicero, Indiana/Hamilton Heights) each had two hits for the Knights while freshman Ben Walters (Beech Grove, Indiana/Beech Grove) threw six innings, allowed three runs on nine hits, but did not factor in the decision.

 

In game two, the Knights had trouble getting the bats going, and after a five-run fourth inning, were struggling to fight back from a rather deep hole. The Knights got two back after falling behind 5-0 in the fourth on a pair of RBI-sacrifice flies by sophomore Bobby Willis (North Vernon, Indiana/Jennings County) and Goodpaster to cut the gap to three, 5-2.

 

However, the Trojans scored three more over the final four innings to take an 8-2 lead and make the Knights' job that much more difficult. The Knights were held to just two hits over the final four innings as Taylor knocked them out of the tournament with an 8-2 victory.

 

Marschand led the way for the Knights after he went 2-for-4 while Willis and Goodpaster each drove in a run.

 

The Knights close the 2009 season with a 24-28 overall record and a 10-14 mark in MCC play.