The Bulldogs flushed the Marist College Red Foxes out of Yale Field Wednesday as nine Yale pitchers combined to allow just seven hits in a 7-0 route. The Elis (5-6) have now won four games out of its last five.

The Bulldog hurlers had plenty of backup. Yale sent nine men to the plate in a six-run second inning including a two-RBI double by third baseman Matt Stone ’06 and an RBI single by shortstop Chris Esper ’06, all before a single out was recorded. A different Bulldog pitched each inning with Yale retiring 13 straight Red Foxes at one point behind four consecutive perfect innings from Elis Brett Rosenthall ’07, Janco, Mike Mongiardini ’07, and Doug Shimokawa ’04.

“By coming out and shutting out Marist with nine different pitchers, I think we showed our depth as a staff,” pitcher John Janco ’06 said.

Eli first baseman Josh Zabar ’06 started the second inning fireworks with a single to center and then advanced to third on a Marist throwing error after catcher Eric Rasmussen ’06 attempted to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Zabar then scored and Rasmussen advanced to third on a wild pitch. Left fielder C.J. Orrico ’05 walked to put men at the corners for Stone, who smashed his two-RBI double to deep left field. Esper then singled to drive in Stone for his 10th RBI of the season, tying him for the team lead with designated hitter Marc Sawyer ’07. The Elis scored thrice more before the end of the second and neither team would score the rest of the way behind dominant pitching.

Janco, who pitched a perfect fourth inning with a 7-0 lead, said he still maintained his focus even with the comfortable lead.

“When you come into a game in a situation like that, the main thing you want to concentrate on is getting your team back to hitting as quickly as possible,” Janco said.

Although the Elis only had four hits after Janco’s shift, they did not need many. The Bulldogs tallied five hits and seven runs in the first two innings while taking advantage of some sloppy Marist defense. Of the seven runs allowed, four were unearned for Marist starter Jonathan Smith while the Red Foxes committed three errors in the field. Eli right fielder Jake Doyle ’07 had two hits in the winning effort.

“I pretty much kept the same approach at the plate, relaxed and confident,” Doyle said. “Today I was seeing the ball well and swinging at good pitches.”

Yale head coach John Stuper said he wanted all of his pitchers to throw against Marist in preparation for two double-headers this weekend against SUNY Albany at Yale Field. Stuper expects stiff competition from Albany just like last season when the Bulldogs split the weekend series with the Great Danes at Yale Field on Mar. 29. In last season’s games, the Elis won both the early games, but lost both the night caps.

“[Albany is] tough, hard-nosed and scrappy,” Stuper said. “We had a tough series against them last year. I expect the same kind of dog fight this year.”

The Elis will start pitchers Alec Smith ’06, Chris Winkler ’07, Josh Sowers ’05 and Mongiardini against Albany this weekend. Sophomore right-hander Nick Murphy leads the Great Danes’ staff. On March 23, Murphy was named the America East Conference Pitcher of the Week. This season he is 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA while compiling a conference leading 25 strike-outs. All nine Albany starters from last year have returned for this season. Despite the impressive numbers for Murphy and Albany’s 9-3 record, Eli Janco is confident about the Bulldogs’ chances.

“This early in the season, I myself try not to look at what the other team has done statistically,” Janco said. “If we go out there and play our game, we are going to be a tough team to beat, period.”

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