LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Baseball scored 10 unanswered runs spanning innings four through seven to salvage its regular season ending series with a critical 10-3 win over I-87 rival Marist on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Connors Park.
With the victory, Siena (22-30, 17-13) secured the coveted final bye to the double elimination rounds of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships next week at Clover Stadium in Pomona, New York. The Saints, who finished in a three-way tie for third place in the MAAC Standings with both Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac, will be the No. 4 seed and make their first postseason appearance in four years on Wednesday at 3 p.m. against the highest advancing seed from the single-elimination round played on Tuesday.
Nick Bergamotto delivered the go-ahead two-run single during a decisive four-run fifth for Siena, whose 22
nd victory marks a 10-win improvement over last season and is the program's highest win total in nine years (25 wins in 2016). Moreover, the Saints claimed their 17
th MAAC win – more than doubling last year's eight – matching the 2014 MAAC Championship squad for the program's most conference victories in 20 years (19 in 2005). The MAAC expanded from 24 to a 30-game league schedule this spring.
Siena put things away with a four-run seventh, capped by a bases-clearing three-run double from
Gavin Thorburn. The Saints pounded out 15 hits for the afternoon, with eight batters registering hits and eight scoring as part of a balanced offensive effort.
Noah Brooks and
Gunnar Meland led the way with three hits apiece, while also knocking in a pair of runs each out of the seven and eight sports in the lineup, respectively.
The offense proved to be more than enough for
Tyler Sausville, who allowed just one run over the final 5.1 innings of relief to earn his fourth win.
Noel Rivera had three of the seven hits and scored two of three runs while adding a pair of stolen bases to pace Marist (23-26, 14-14), who will be the No. 7 seed in the MAAC Tournament and face sixth-seeded Mount St. Mary's in a single-elimination game Tuesday at 3 p.m.