PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- The Arcadia baseball team dropped a pair of contests on Sunday afternoon, the first day of its annual Spring Break trip. The Knights opened with a 15-12 loss to Marietta, followed by a narrow 3-0 loss to No. 25 Kean.
 
Marietta 15, Arcadia 12
Despite building an early lead, the Knights couldn't hold on to defeat Marietta in a game that featured 32 combined hits. Dylan Towey was one of four AU players to record a multi-hit outing, finishing 3 for 5 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Bryan Gillen was 3 for 5 with a walk and drove in a pair, and Sean Carew and Zak Thomas each had a pair of base hits and two runs scored.
 
The Knights struck for three runs in the top of the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead on Trevor Mattson's sacrifice fly to left that scored Gillen. An RBI single from Thomas made it 2-0, and Towey stretched the lead to 3-0 with a single to left that scored Phil Pierfy.
 
The Pioneers erupted for nine runs on six hits in the third inning, chasing AU starter Jeremy Sabathne. Trailing 3-2, Marietta took a 4-3 lead with one out on Damian Yenzi's two-run single. A Brady Cottom RBI double made it 5-3, and Drew Holderbach followed with a two-run double to make it 7-3.
 
Towey's two-out, two-run bomb in the bottom of the third cut AU's deficit to 7-5. Marietta tacked on one run in the sixth inning and added four more in the seventh to stretch its lead to 14-5 before the Knights plated sixth in the bottom of the seventh, including a two-run single by Gillen, to pull within 14-12. Each team plated one run in the ninth to cap the scoring.
 
Sabathne started and took the loss, yielding eight runs on seven hits and three walks in 2.1 innings. Luke Fournier tossed 3.2 innings in relief, giving up two runs (1 earned) on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Colin Bowdish tossed the final 3.0 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts.
 
No. 25 Kean 3, Arcadia 0
The offensive fireworks that were the hallmark of AU's first contest, were absent in game two as the 25th-ranked Cougars held the Knights to five hits on the day.
 
Tyler Showers was a tough-luck loser on the mound for the Knights. He gave up just two runs in 6.0 innings on three hits and three walks with seven punchouts. Owen Margolis pitched the final 2.0 innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits with two strikeouts.
 
Kean got a run in the first on a leadoff walk to John Carello, who then advanced to second on a wild pitch. A sacrifice bunt moved him to third and he crossed the plate on Frank LoGiudice's ground ball to second. It was a lot of the same in the fourth inning as Steve Santigate doubled with one out and advanced to third on a wild pitch. A bunt from Chris Ciaccio brought the run home and pushed Kean's lead to 2-0.
 
After the Cougars took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth, the Knights made it interesting in the ninth. Carew and Mattson led off the inning with back-to-back singles giving AU two on with nobody out, prompting Kean to bring in Zachary Marzano to close things out. Marzano induced a double play, allowing Carew to advance to third, then recorded a strikeout to seal the win.
 
Nick Ponente led AU at the plate, going 2 for 3. Carew finished 1 for 2 with a pair of walks, and Tyler Wisnewski was 1 for 2 with a walk.
 
The Knights are back in action on Monday when they take on Susquehanna at 2:30 p.m.