Baseball gets mixed performances from pitching
Scott Atkins
Issue date: 3/11/10 Section: Sports
The Marist baseball team spent the weekend in North Carolina as they took on UNC-Charlotte in a 3-game series. The Red Foxes dropped two out of three and now stand at 3-7 on the season.
"We got off to a slow start on the mound," head coach Chris Tracz said. "But how we responded was really the thing to take away from the weekend."
Junior right-hander Kyle Putnam took the mound for Marist when they opened the series against the 49ers on Friday. The home team jumped on Putnam right off the bat scoring 10 runs in the second inning and they never looked back. UNC followed their explosive second with five runs a piece in the third, fourth and fifth innings. The Foxes' solid day at the plate was not enough to match the offensive eruption by the 49ers, as Marist fell 26-9 in what was their worst loss of the season. Putnam received the loss and was credited with seven earned runs in 1.1 innings of work. His record now sits at 1-1 and Tracz is confident that his standout pitcher will quickly return to form.
"It's only the third week of the season," Tracz said. "He's going to get 15 starts and I told him after the game that you're always going to have one or two that you aren't going to want to remember, and this is his one for the year. So I'm not really worried about him at all."
The Foxes would soon rebound in a big way, as junior left-hander Sean McKeown pitched six scoreless innings in an 11-7 victory the next day. Marist's spectacular day at the plate included 18 hits, three apiece from senior left fielder Ryan Gauck, junior catcher Bryce Nugent and freshman second baseman Zach Shank. Tracz was pleased with the way his team rebounded from Friday's lopsided loss.
"I think it just shows the mental toughness that they have," Tracz said. "They took some adversity and moved forward. I think a lot of teams can really get demoralized from a loss like we had, but our guys kept their heads up and kept grinding. It's a big confidence booster to know that we can take some hits and keep on going."
"We got off to a slow start on the mound," head coach Chris Tracz said. "But how we responded was really the thing to take away from the weekend."
Junior right-hander Kyle Putnam took the mound for Marist when they opened the series against the 49ers on Friday. The home team jumped on Putnam right off the bat scoring 10 runs in the second inning and they never looked back. UNC followed their explosive second with five runs a piece in the third, fourth and fifth innings. The Foxes' solid day at the plate was not enough to match the offensive eruption by the 49ers, as Marist fell 26-9 in what was their worst loss of the season. Putnam received the loss and was credited with seven earned runs in 1.1 innings of work. His record now sits at 1-1 and Tracz is confident that his standout pitcher will quickly return to form.
"It's only the third week of the season," Tracz said. "He's going to get 15 starts and I told him after the game that you're always going to have one or two that you aren't going to want to remember, and this is his one for the year. So I'm not really worried about him at all."
The Foxes would soon rebound in a big way, as junior left-hander Sean McKeown pitched six scoreless innings in an 11-7 victory the next day. Marist's spectacular day at the plate included 18 hits, three apiece from senior left fielder Ryan Gauck, junior catcher Bryce Nugent and freshman second baseman Zach Shank. Tracz was pleased with the way his team rebounded from Friday's lopsided loss.
"I think it just shows the mental toughness that they have," Tracz said. "They took some adversity and moved forward. I think a lot of teams can really get demoralized from a loss like we had, but our guys kept their heads up and kept grinding. It's a big confidence booster to know that we can take some hits and keep on going."
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