POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (Interstat) — The Marist Red Foxes erupted for seven runs in the second inning Friday and defeated the Bryant Bulldogs 9-2 in the first game of a doubleheader at James J. McCann Baseball Field.

Marist improved to 21-28 overall. Bryant fell to 26-24.

The Bulldogs struck first in the top of the second inning. Charlie Saul singled and Hunter Kingsbury singled, putting runners at first and third. Jacob Gaudreau grounded out to the pitcher, scoring Saul and moving Kingsbury to second for a 1-0 lead. A second run came home later in the inning on a fielder’s choice.

Bryant starter Ty Davis recorded two outs in the bottom of the second but could not escape the inning unscathed. Chris Diaz led off with a solo home run to cut the deficit to 2-1. Brady Steinert singled, and Dylan Millman was hit by a pitch. A pickoff error by the pitcher allowed Steinert to advance to third and Millman to second. Connor Lawrence walked to load the bases.

Drew McGowan singled to drive in Steinert, tying the game at 2-2. Luis Cedeno followed with a single to left, plating Millman and giving Marist a 3-2 lead. Billy Mulholland relieved Davis, but the Red Foxes continued to rally. AJ Brotz grounded into a double play, but Connor Lawrence scored on the play to make it 4-2. Noel Rivera singled to left, scoring McGowan for a 5-2 advantage. TJ Baer then crushed a two-run homer to left, extending the lead to 7-2.

Marist added two more runs in the third inning off reliever Justin Dressler. Steinert singled, moved to second on a groundout, and scored on a fielder’s choice by Cedeno. Luke Monico singled to drive in McGowan, making it 9-2.

Bryant’s only other run came in the top of the fifth. Casey Wensley walked, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a single by Mike Fiatarone. The run was unearned. The Bulldogs managed just four hits in the game, including two singles from Saul and Kingsbury, a single from Fiatarone, and one other safety. Marist finished with 10 hits.

Marist used a parade of relievers to close out the game. Bobby LeFevre started and worked two innings, allowing two hits and one earned run with one strikeout. AJ Thomas, Chris Ubner, Nick Buchman, Drew Speranza and Logan Scholl each threw a scoreless inning. Scholl struck out three in the seventh. Andrew Speranza fanned one, Thomas struck out one, and Ubner had one strikeout.

For Bryant, Ty Davis took the loss. Mulholland, Dressler, Tommy Flaherty, Zev Salsberg and Jameson Dobis followed in relief. Flaherty pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Salsberg and Dobis each tossed a hitless frame.

Diaz finished 1-for-2 with a home run and an RBI. Baer was 1-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs. McGowan had two hits and an RBI. Rivera had two hits and an RBI. Cedeno contributed two RBIs.

For Bryant, Fiatarone had two stolen bases in addition to his RBI single. Wensley was hit by a pitch and walked twice, scoring a run.

The game was the first of a scheduled doubleheader. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Bryant 6, Marist 5, and Interstat’s ELO system gave Bryant a 67.50 percent probability to win.