The 2014 Marian baseball squad is renown for being aggressive on the bases and having speed throughout its lineup.

On a day where not many balls left the infield, the Colts used that speed to their advantage as they defeated Jim Thorpe, 7-2, in a non-league game on Saturday."We haven't hit the ball well the past few games," said Marian head coach Jeff Nietz. "Today we just wanted to try and make things happen. We felt with our speed and their youth we would be able to manufacture some runs."Anthony Agosti had two hits both bunt singles in the contest as the leadoff batter for the Colts. He was aggressive on the bases and was a true difference maker in the game. His run in the top of the first gave the Colts an early lead."We want speed at the top and at the bottom of our order," said Nietz. "Today we wanted to mix things up because of injuries and sickness. When our kids with speed such as Anthony (Agosti), Frank (Nietz), and KJ (Snerr) get on, then the defense starts to worry. The infield knows they have to rush their plays in the field."Jim Thorpe did tie the game in the bottom of the frame as Ryan McCullough had a leadoff single and eventually came around to score. McCullough's single to open up the game would be the only Olympian hit in the contest.Marian freshman starting pitcher Dan Keer threw six innings of one hit baseball and struck out three Olympian batters en route to victory."He did a fantastic job," said Nietz. "I can't say enough about the job that he did today."Snerr was another Marian standout in the contest with three singles and an RBI. The Colts catcher, who missed the first few weeks of the season with an injury, also threw an absolute rope to pick off a Jim Thorpe runner at second base from behind the plate to stop a potential Olympian rally at one point."He's only been back with us for a few games now behind the plate," said Nietz. "He's only going to get better and better as time goes on."Despite the loss, Jim Thorpe head coach Derick Reis was encouraged with much of what he saw from his Olympian squad."We didn't play well against Mt. Carmel in the first half of the doubleheader (the Olympians played two games on Saturday)," said Reis. "We were anxious to see how the kids would come out and play against a good Marian team."Reis also hinted that the future is bright for Jim Thorpe baseball."We're definitely a young and inexperienced team on the varsity level," he explained. "We have two sophomores in Jordan McElmoyle and Ryan McCullough who we are looking forward to working with over the next few years."We have a great freshman class too .We have three of them up on the varsity level and all of them started in today's game. They're not where they need to be in terms of strength, but that will come with time. As they grow and mature, those routine ground balls will turn into base hits and doubles in the gap."The Marian victory snapped a four-game skid for the Colts, who had been playing extremely well up until that point."This is a close-knit group of kids who are fun to be around," said Nietz. "They keep it loose and enjoy the game, but they also know when to tighten up."The biggest thing is that they listen and want to absorb as much baseball as possible and that is crucial."Marian 103 011 1 - 7 8 2Jim Thorpe 100 100 0 - 2 1 1Keer, Nietz (7) and Snerr; Micciche and Steigerwalt. W - Keer. L - Micciche.