STEUBENVILLE - The Franciscan University of Steubenville baseball team hosted the La Roche College Redhawks Wednesday in a double-header, losing 9-6, 12-9.  With the losses, the Barons fell to a 3-13 standing overall and 0-6 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

The lead was never in the Barons' grasp as they trailed 2-0 early in the first inning.  The Redhawks increased to a 6-0 lead by the end of the second inning and eventually took a 9-6 victory. Tom Costello had two hits and one RBI for the Barons, and Jacob Machado had two hits and a run.

The second game became a fairer fight.  The Barons held a 2-1 lead at the close of the first inning, but La Roche came back in the second to take a 4-2 advantage. The Barons regained the lead with two runs in an aggressive sixth inning, including a home run by Matt Liedel.

“It was a perfect pitch on the inside,” Liedel said of the hit.  “He threw a curveball inside on the first pitch and I knew that I could send hit it far if he threw the same pitch again…the next pitch was the same one, and I was luckily able to catch it just right.”

The Barons trailed by two runs in the bottom of the seventh but were able to come back and tie to game, 8-8, forcing extra innings.  Each team scored one run in the first extra inning, forcing a ninth inning in which the Redhawks pulled away for a 12-9 win.

Kevin Marrow had three hits and an RBI in the loss, while teammates Rocco Auteri and Anthony Pontarelli brought in three hits, one RBI, and two runs; and two hits, two RBIs, and two runs, respectively.

“We keep playing harder and harder and pushing opponents to the edge,” Barons head coach Dr. Robert Marrow remarked.  “I thought that we would have come out with a win today, but La Roche played two great games.  We need to tighten up on defense and give our bats a chance to win.  But hats off to La Roche, they played very well today.”

The Barons' next contest is this Saturday versus D'Youville College at 1 p.m.