Etta Express takes over control of OAC with sweep of Muskingum
Marietta stretches win streak to five games with 10-4 and 9-6 victories on the road

April 15, 2008
NEW CONCORD, Ohio — The Etta Express extended its win streak to five games, climb back to .500 and took over sole control of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) race with a doubleheader sweep at Muskingum College on Tuesday (April 15) afternoon. Marietta College hit four home runs in the opener, a 10-4 victory. The Pioneers then slugged two more, both off the bat of sophomore shortstop Tyler Penwell (Washington Court House), in a 9-6 win to secure the sweep and improve to 14-14. More importantly, Marietta is now 10-2 in league play and holds a one game lead over both Heidelberg College and Mount Union College in the standings. The Muskies fell to 12-14, 2-10 in the OAC.

The ball was flying out of Mose Morehead Field from the first inning of game one. Marietta sophomore Nick Springer (Guysville/Federal Hocking) was the first to unleash a home run when he hit a three-run shot to left field in the Pioneers’ first at-bat. Senior center fielder Tony Piconke (Clinton Township, Mich./Clintondale) blasted a three-run shot of his own in the second to extend Marietta’s lead to 6-0. Home runs from sophomore catcher Danny Jones (Lima/Shawnee) and junior third baseman Cameron Cimino (Boardman) in the fourth stretched the Pioneers' advantage to 8-0.

Muskingum fought back with its first run off sophomore reliever Nate Eschbaugh (Marietta) in the bottom of the fourth. Eschbaugh relieved sophomore starter Joe Pitrone (Highland Heights/Mayfield) after just 2 1/3 innings when Pitrone left with an injury midway through an at-bat. Pitrone had held Muskingum to just three hits while walking one and striking out two.

Marietta got the run back and added a second to put it ahead 10-1 in the fifth. Springer singled and scored on a wild pitch. Jones added a RBI when he reached on an error later in the frame.

The Muskies, who compiled nine hits, scored two more in their half of the fifth and another in the bottom of the seventh when Brock Huntsman hit a solo home run, but the Etta Express, who finished with 13 hits, won the game 10-4.

Penwell paced Marietta’s 13-hit attack with a 3-for-4 game at the plate. Springer and Cimino both had a pair of hits, including a home run, in the win.

Eschbaugh earned the victory to improve to 2-0 on the spring. He allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits in 4 2/3 innings. Aubrey Neuhart (5-3) suffered the loss for Muskingum.

A sacrifice fly by senior Dom Winters (Washington, Pa.) scored Cimino to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead after their first at-bat of the nightcap. Muskingum, however, plated four runs on five hits in its half of the first frame to take a 4-1 lead.

Marietta began to chip away with a run in the second on a home run by Penwell, his first of the year. Springer and sophomore Ryan Frost (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) drove in freshman Britt Meador (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) and Winters with the Pioneers’ third and fourth runs, respectively, with singles in the third to tie the game.

Penwell gave Marietta the lead for a short time when he led off the fourth with his second home run of the game. Muskingum answered with a solo home run by Zac Hampton to knot the game back up at 5-5.

The Etta Express regained the lead for good when Meador singled home Jones in the sixth. Marietta added two more insurance runs in the eighth when Meador singled and scored on a Cimino triple and then Cimino scored on a Winters single. The Pioneers added their final run in the ninth when Piconke doubled home Penwell, who reached on an error.

Muskingum once again scraped a run across in the final inning but it was not nearly enough as Marietta won 9-6.

Junior Chris Stewart (Dublin/Dublin Coffman) picked up the win in relief to improve to 3-1. He allowed just one run on six hits and struck out two in five innings. Junior starter Jason Baumler (Crownsville, Md./Old Mill) allowed five runs on six hits, walked one and fanned a pair over the first four innings. Josh Cornwell, who allowed three runs on five hits while striking out six in five innings, suffered the loss and fell to 1-2.

Marietta out hit Muskingum 14-12 in the second game. Winters led the way by going 3-for-5. Meador, Cimino, Penwell and Jones all had two hits in the win. Four Muskies also had multiple-hit games in the nightcap.

The Pioneers will now gear up for an OAC showdown with rival Otterbein College. The meeting will take place at Don Schaly Stadium on Saturday (April 19) afternoon. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m. It will be the 10th annual Community Baseball Day. Fans are encouraged to come out for a full day of activities, including free food, t-shirts and give-a-ways throughout the games. Both games can be heard live locally in Marietta on WMOA-AM 1490 and over the Internet at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html.