WORCESTER, Mass. – After trailing by seven runs early, the Holy Cross baseball team fell short of a comeback in a 7-5 loss to Marist on Wednesday, May 1 at Fitton Field.

STATS LEADERS:

• Austin Masel (3-for-3, double, three RBI)
• Kellen McCormick (3-for-4, double)
• Alex Gionis (1-for-3, two runs scored, home run)
• Kyle Johnson (2.0 IP, two hits, two walks, five strikeouts)
• Frank Spano (2.0 IP, one hit, three strikeouts)

W: Conor McNamara (2-1)
L: Nick Escoto (0-1)
S: Ryan Cardona (3)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After back-to-back walks, Marist had a single to take a 1-0 lead in the second; the Red Foxes tacked on three more runs with a solo homer to left-center followed by a two-run single in the third inning.
• Marist took a 7-0 lead by the fifth inning.
• The Crusaders began to cut into the deficit in the bottom of the fifth;  junior center fielder Austin Masel had a two-run single through the left side, and senior shortstop Alex Gionis stole home to put a third run on the board.
• Holy Cross made it a 7-5 game in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, Gionis hit a solo homer; after a single by freshman right fielder Ben Malgeri, Masel had a double to deep center field to score Malgeri from first and make it a two-run game.
• The Crusaders had runners on the corners after Masel had a single; but Marist issued a strikeout to end the game.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Holy Cross falls to 19-28 overall; Marist improves to 21-21.
• The Crusaders end their nine-game homestand with a 6-3 record over that span; Holy Cross has still won 11 of its last 15 outings.
• Freshman lefty Frank Spano has not allowed any earned runs while allowing just three hits over his last four appearances. He had a career-high three strikeouts in Wednesday's outing.

DUE UP:

• Holy Cross heads to Pennsylvania for a pair of Patriot League doubleheaders to round out the regular season.
• The Crusaders will face Lafayette on Saturday, May 4 at 12 p.m., followed by a 12 p.m. matchup at Lehigh on Sunday, May 5.

Follow @HCrossBaseball