Marietta baseball sweeps host Wilmington 6-1 and 10-2
Pioneers back atop OAC standings with 8-2 league record

April 14, 2008
WILMINGTON, Ohio — The Marietta College baseball team took care of its business on the road Monday (April 14) afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of host Wilmington College. The Pioneers won game one 6-1 and then took game two 10-2 to improve to 12-14 overall and 8-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). The Quakers fell to 8-12, 3-7 in league play. The Pioneers' two wins, coupled with a 5-4, 11-inning victory for Heidelberg College over Mount Union College in the first game of their doubleheader in Tiffin, helped the Etta Express climb back into a share of first place in the OAC. They will either be tied with the Student Princes or the Purple Raiders, depending on the outcome of their second game this evening.

Marietta once again got a solid outing from its ace, junior T.J. Knowlton (Greenwich/Mapleton), in the opener. Knowlton, who improved to 6-2, allowed just one run on seven hits and struck out four in the victory. Wilmington's Zach Stakely (1-2) suffered the loss after giving up six runs on eight hits with three walks and four strikeouts in seven innings.

The Pioneers took the lead from the start when senior Tony Piconke (Clinton Township, Mich./Clintondale) led off with a walk, advanced to second on an infield single by junior Justin Merryman (New Philadelphia), moved to third on a fly out by junior Cameron Cimino (Boardman) and the scored on a sacrifice fly by senior Dom Winters (Washington, Pa.).

Wilmington's only run came in the bottom of the first inning when Brad Hatfield delivered a run-scoring double with two outs in the frame.

Marietta broke it open with four runs in the third. Once again, Piconke started things off when he was hit by a pitch. Merryman doubled, moving Piconke to third. Cimino then drove in Piconke with a sacrifice fly. Winters followed with a RBI double to center and sophomores Nick Springer (Guysville/Federal Hocking) and Ryan Frost (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) added RBI singles to right, giving the Pioneers a 5-1 lead.

A home run from by Winters with two outs in the seventh complete the scoring in the 6-1 victory. It was his third of the season.

Winters and Merryman both finished with two hits in the win, while Mitch Fogg had a pair of hits for Wilmington.

Merryman swapped his bat for his pitching glove and proceeded to strike out a career-high 13 Quakers in Marietta's 10-2 win in the nightcap. The left-hander, who improved to 3-3, allowed just one run on two hits and walked two in seven innings. Merryman retired 14 of the last 15 hitters he faced in the game.

Marietta's offense gave him plenty of support as it pounded Wilmington pitching for a season-high 18 hits.

Piconke, the catalyst of the offense of late, ripped a leadoff double in the first and later scored on a Cimino sacrifice fly to put Marietta ahead 1-0 after its first at-bat.

The Pioneers did their damage with two outs in the second. Frost doubled and scored on a single by sophomore Tyler Penwell (Washington Court House). Sophomore Danny Jones (Lima/Shawnee) then doubled home Penwell. Piconke followed with a RBI single to score Jones. Piconke then scored on a series of wild pitches after stealing second base for the fourth and final run of the inning.

Marietta went back to work in the third. Junior Brennan Cribbins (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) hit a one-out single and moved to third on a double by Frost. After a fly out, Jones drove in Cribbins with an infield single. Frost added another run when he scored on an error, making the score 7-0 midway through the third.

Wilmington got one back in the bottom of the frame when Tyler Ledford, who finished 2-for-4, drove in Jason Iles, who reached on an error with one out, with an infield single.

The Etta Express added to its lead in the sixth when Jones drove in Cribbins with a double. Cribbins reached with a single earlier in the frame.

Marietta closed out its scoring in the seventh. Winters drilled his second home run of the day, a two-run shot to left field with one out. Freshman Britt Meador (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) singled and scored on the play.

The Quakers managed an unearned run off freshman reliever Mark Williams (Fayetteville/Perry) in the bottom of the ninth, but Williams, who allowed just the unearned run on three hits, shut the door from there and sealed the victory. Robby Boyd (1-2) took the loss after allowing seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits in three innings. Chris Lewis then gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits over the final six frames.

Jones led Marietta's attack with a 3-for-4 game at the plate. Piconke (2-for-5), Meador (2-for-3), Springer (2-for-5), Cribbins (2-for-4) and Frost (2-for-5) helped the Pioneers raise their team average eight points in the game.

Marietta continues its OAC schedule on Tuesday (April 15) when it visits New Concord, Ohio, for a 1 p.m. doubleheader with Muskingum College. Both games can be heard live locally in Marietta on WMOA-AM 1490 and over the Internet at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html.