ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - It was a day for debuts as the Marian College baseball team opened the 2008 campaign, finally after a trio of cancellations, at the Florida All-Stars College Baseball Jamboree on Sunday. The Knights fell in their season opener to St. Francis (Ill.), 5-3, but it was the debut of a couple of players that caught the eye of onlookers.

Freshman righthander Jake Mullis (Coatesville, Indiana/North Putnam) opened his first collegiate outing by striking out the side to open the game and retiring nine out of the first 11 batters he faced over the first three innings. The Knight offense, after a 1-2-3 first inning, posted a run in the second and another in the third to give Mullis a 2-0 lead.

After senior transfer Rashard Graves (Indianapolis/Univ. of Akron) singled to open the second inning and advanced to third on USF miscues, sophomore Rick Parrish (Avon, Indiana/Avon) beat out an infield single with two outs to score Graves for Marian's first run.

In the third inning, sophomore transfer Tony Goodpaster (Avon, Indiana/Avon) ripped a double down the left field line and was followed by a single to the right field gap by sophomore Mike Keltz (Avon, Indiana/Avon) to score Goodpaster in the second. Mullis was staked a 2-0 lead in his first outing.

However, St. Francis scored a run in the top of the fourth and took the lead with three more in the fifth to cause head coach Kurt Guldner to pull Mullis and replace him with freshman Aaron Wilder (Decatur, Indiana/Bellmont) in the sixth. USF led 4-2 and added one more in the top of the eighth.

The Knights responded with one of their own in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI-double by Goodpaster that scored senior Kevin Shepherd (Fortville, Indiana/Ancilla JC). However, the Knights went quickly in the ninth and gave St. Francis (Ill.) their 11th win in 14 games on their Florida trip.

Goodpaster led the Knights by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored, and an RBI. Parrish finished the day 2-for-4 with an RBI while Keltz, Graves, and sophomore Patrick Midla (Brownsburg, Indiana/Bethesda Christian) each added a hit for the Knights.

Marian (0-1) continues its Florida trip on Monday when it takes on Dickinson State University in a doubleheader scheduled for 10 a.m.