Marist is showing that the home run shouldn't be the first thing you look for in a winning baseball team. The War Eagles have hit only one in 13 games. They’re ranked No. 1 in Class AAAA.
‘’We’re not going to hit very many,’’ Marist coach Mike Strickland said. “We’re not going to score multiple runs on one swing. That’s not who we are, and that’s fine.’’
Especially if you've got outstanding pitching and defense. Those are making the three-run homer obsolete.
What Marist does have is a starting rotation of three Division 1 signees. Two also play outfield and swing the bat well.
Notre Dame signee Sean Guenther is 3-0 with an 0.52 ERA. Michael Toner (William & Mary) is 3-0 with an 0.00 ERA and is hitting .385. Chris McGrath (Duke) is 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA. He’s batting .536 with 15 RBI and the team’s lone home run. All were significant last season in Marist's run to the AAAA championship series. Marist was runner-up to Redan.
As a team, Marist has an 0.74 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 73 innings. Marist has allowed only 35 hits and 18 walks.
‘’That’s one area where we’re very blessed,’’ Strickland said. “We’ve got some good arms that we can run out there and that throw strikes and compete.’’
The team is hitting .346. The leaders include outfielder Lott Gwin (.400), shortstop Steven Taylor (.394) and second baseman Parker Mathes (.387), all seniors.
Marist isn’t sure of its record. It is either 12-0 or 12-1. Marist won three games over spring break in Alabama and trailed the fourth one 4-1 to Spanish Fort when rained stopped it in the fourth inning. Strickland isn’t sure what the rules say on an official game in that case.
Marist has dominated a strong non-region schedule of in-state opponents, beating Cartersville, Brookwood, Mill Creek, Greenbrier and Parkview by a combined 32-5 score. Marist has beaten No. 2 Parkview (AAAAAA) 6-0 and No. 2 Greenbrier (AAAAA) 7-1.
‘’I wouldn’t be overly deceived by that because you can look at each of those and there’s been an inning where we catch a break, get a run here or there,’’ Strickland said. “We’ve played good defense and pitched it pretty well.’’
With only one home run, that is important.
‘’Don’t get me wrong,’’ Strickland said “I wouldn’t complain if that number was 20 (home runs). Obviously it’s nice to have those type guys in your lineup, but right now in terms of our personnel, we’ve got to do a good job of getting on base, situational hitting. So far, we’ve been opportunistic when presented a chance to have a big inning.’’
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