College of Marin Baseball did just enough to grab a road win in Marysville on Saturday. The first of a pair of makeup games went to Marin as they scored twice in the first and once more in the sixth to grab a 3-1 victory, and series win over the Yuba College 49ers. Matthew Lozovoy started and earned the win while Michael Benz was both the long man and the closer in the win.
The Mariners got on the board early, jumping on Yuba starter Drew Rodriguez for a pair of first inning runs. Jacob Berg and Anthony Pomilia led off the game with to back singles and pulled off a double steal with Landen Moran at the plate. After a walk to load the bases, Conor Bardue and Dionathan Cornet hit into consecutive infield groundouts to plate a pair and give Marin a 2-0 lead.
Lozovoy retired the first eight hitters he faced before Yuba connected on back to back two out hits in the third. The Mariners' starter bucked down as a lineout ended the threat.
Marin were held off the board through the fourth inning while the hosting 49ers started a rally in the bottom of the inning. A leadoff walk was erased by a double play, but with two outs a single and wild pitch put a runner in scoring position. A pair of walks loaded the bases before another walk drove in Yuba's first run. A fielder's choice ended the inning but Marin's advantage was cut to 2-1.
Both teams were held scoreless in the fifth before Mariners plated another run in the top half of the sixth. Randy Fernandez and Davis Barkocy led off with back to back singles before Issac Woldt laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners. With Jonathan Sumner at the plate, a wild pitch allowed Fernandez to come home for a 3-1 Marin lead.
Lozovoy walked the leadoff hitter in the sixth but induced a double play to clear the bases. Jackson Loder relieved Lozovoy and gave up back to back singles. With the tying run on base, Michael Benz took to the mound and struck out Trevor Curl to end the inning.
The Mariners' offense went dormant for the rest of the game but it did not matter as Benz was electric over the final three frames. He retired the final nine batters of the game in order to shut down the 49ers and save the game for Marin. Benz pitched a perfect 3.1 innings with seven strikeouts on the day. Lozovoy earned the win and allowed one run and three hits in 5.2 innings. Pomilia and Barkocy each had three hits for the offense.
The win was Marin's seventh straight and 12th in Bay Valley Conference competition. The Mariners begin their series with Los Medanos College at home on Tuesday, April 9th. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30pm