RIO GRANDE, OH – It was the first doubleheader of the season for the Franciscan University of Steubenville Barons baseball team as they took on the Rio Grande University Redstorm Saturday, losing 17-1 and 15-1.  The Barons start their season 0-2 overall and 0-0 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

Rio Grande took a commanding lead, registering four hits and scoring three runs in the second inning.  The Barons struggled to get a hit until Ryan Marrow's single in the third inning.  Down 17-0, the Barons managed to score in the seventh and final inning, wrapping up the game 17-1.

Ryan Marrow and Jacob Machado each had two hits for the Barons in the first game.  Marrow registered the only RBI and Matt Talbot had the sole run for the Barons.

The second game was equally difficult for the Barons, finding themselves down 3-0 at the end of the first inning and never able to recover.  The Barons only managed to get two hits in the game: one by Ryan Marrow and the other by Machado, who went on to score on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Pontarelli.

Barons head coach Dr. Robert Marrow felt that his team performed well and it was a learning experience against a top team:  “We played well out there tonight,” he remarked.  “We had a few good hits out there today. The guys played well and we're looking forward to our games in Florida this spring break.”

The Barons will be traveling to Cocoa Beach, Florida, to play seven games over four days of competition during the university's spring break.  The first game of spring training is against New Paltz State on March 14 at 12:30 p.m.