BY: MONICA VEGA (mvega@smcm.edu)

St. Mary's City, Md. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland baseball team (5-6) stayed strong and battled the No. 16 Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets (10-0) but come up short in a 5-2 decision Wednesday afternoon.

First-year OF Holden Marshall (Baltimore, Md./Friends School) paced the Seahawks by contributing two hits, cracking his first career triple and recording two RBI. Marshall helped St. Mary's gain a 2-1 lead over the Yellow Jackets in the second inning. His triple to centerfield brought home junior 3B Colin Thatcher (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) and senior catcher Connor Goodie (Rising Sun, Md./Rising Sun) for the one-run advantage.

It became a defensive battle after the second inning as no runs were recorded in the next four innings. At the top of the seventh, the Yellow Jackets reclaimed a one-run lead. Senior centerfielder Christian Sanderson (Lynchburg, Va./Jefferson Forest) singled to centerfield to drive in sophomore OF Rick Spiers (South Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) for the game-tying run before senior pinch hitter Michael Kroll (Virginia Beach, Va./Cape Henry Collegiate) came home on a bases-load walk for the go-ahead run.

The Yellow Jackets grasped the game in the ninth, tacking on two more runs. First-year SS Jeffrey Butler's (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) single to right field brought in senior RF Michael Trentham (Midlothain, Va./James River). Shortly after, Butler would cross home plate for the fifth and final run when senior catcher Mitchell Keeler (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) singled to second base.

Randolph-Macon tallied five runs on seven hits with one error. Senior RHP Tanner Phillips (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) improved to 2-0 as Phillips gave up just one hit in 1.0 inning of relief.

Junior LHP Jimmy Robey (Kensington, Md./Gonzaga) received the loss for the Seahawks as Robey (1-3) allowed two runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning. The Seahawks racked up two runs on six hits with three errors and two double plays turned.

St. Mary's will return to the Hawk's Nest this weekend as the Seahawks host Allegheny College in a three-game series. The two teams will play two seven-inning games on Saturday, March 5 beginning at 11:00 a.m. before a single game on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.

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