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AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Lewis baseball earned their third win in four games on Tuesday (March 1) as the Flyers topped the Mary (N.D.) Marauders 11-10 in 12 innings.

Lewis held a 10-5 advantage heading into the bottom of the eighth, but that is when things got tight. The Marauders loaded the bases and eventually scored three runs in the frame. It could have been worse as Mary left the bags packed after senior Phil Warner (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) earned a strikeout and fly out to end the frame. In the ninth, Mary put the first three men on base thanks to a single and a pair of hit by pitches. Still, Lewis was an out away from winning the game before a two-out double by Jason Shaul tied the game. With the winning run on third, the Flyers now found themselves 90-feet away from losing the game. The threat was extinguished when Brad Meyer lined out to the shortstop to end the ninth.

In the 12^th, sophomore Ethan Bloom (Schaumburg, Ill./Hoffman Estates) grounded into a double play to score junior Brandon Collins (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way North) who opened the inning with a walk. Collins' run ended up being the difference.

"I'm happy with the victory but we didn't come ready to play and we let them hang around," Lewis head coach Tim McDonough said. "I'm proud of how we battled back."

Junior Nick Davito (Crest Hill, Ill./Lockport) pitched the final two innings to pick up the win. He is now 2-0 after giving up just one hit in the two innings. Davito has been lights out for the Flyers so far, allowing just the one hit in four innings of work in Florida.

Offensively, the Lewis bats had their best game of the young season. Bloom went 4-of-6 with two home runs, four RBI and two runs scored. He also walked. Sophomore Neal Tyrell (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) was 4-of-6 with four RBI and three runs scored. His three-run home run in the fourth put Lewis up 4-3 after the Flyers fell behind 3-0 following the first inning. Junior Austin Schultz (Greensburg, Ind./Greensburg) also had a home run for the Flyers, his first in a Lewis uniform. Collins joined Bloom and Tyrell with four hits each. Collins notched three stolen bases, with his final coming in the 12^th inning.

Mary reliever Will Pattener took the loss in his first decision of the year.

Freshman Robert Talarico (Joliet, Ill./Joliet West) threw 5.1 innings of relief, giving up two runs and no walks. He was in line for the win before Mary's late rally.

"The top of the order was fantastic," McDonough said. "Talarico pitched great in relief. Davito showed a lot of guts coming back today after throwing yesterday."

Lewis improves to 3-1. Mary falls to 1-5.  The Flyers are back in action on Wednesday (March 2) in a 10:30 a.m. ET start against West Virginia Wesleyan.