Marietta swept by rival Otterbein on 10th annual Community Day
Cardinals steal game one 8-5 and the out-slug Pioneers 19-15 in nightcap

April 19, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College baseball team dropped two games to visiting Otterbein College Saturday (April 19) afternoon on the 10th annual Community Day at Don Schaly Stadium. The Cardinals took game one 8-5 and out-slugged the Pioneers in game two 19-15. The losses dropped Marietta’s record to 14-16 overall and 10-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). The Pioneers fell back to second place, one game behind Heidelberg College, with four games to play. Otterbein improved to 18-10 and 7-5 in the OAC.

Marietta struck first in game one with two runs in the third. Sophomore Tyler Penwell (Washington Court House) scored Marietta’s first run from third on a wild pitch from Otterbein starter Dan Remenowsky. Junior Cameron Cimino (Boardman) then doubled over the center fielder to drive home senior Tony Piconke (Clinton Township, Mich./Clintondale) to give the Pioneers a 2-0 advantage.

Otterbein answered with three in the fifth. Cardinal first baseman Brian Hiscox belted a three-run home run over the left field wall to give his team a 3-2 lead.

The Pioneers bounced back to regain the lead 4-3 in the sixth. Junior Brennan Cribbins (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) gave the Etta Express the lead after hitting a two-run home run to right field. The home run was his second of the season.

Two costly errors by the Marietta infield allowed Otterbein to tie the game 4-4 in the top of the seventh. Another Marietta error kept the Otterbein seventh alive with one out and runners on first and second. Otterbein’s Aaron Hutchison then lined a ball over the head Pioneer junior left fielder Justin Merryman (New Philadelphia). Merryman’s foot got caught in the fence, allowing all three runners to score. Hutchison was credited with an inside-the-park home run. Ben Titus followed with a solo shot to right and make the score 8-4.

Piconke led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo shot to dead center field to cut the lead to 8-5. Remenowsky settled down and retired the next three hitters to secure the three-run victory for the Cardinals.

Junior TJ Knowlton (Greenwich/Mapleton) scattered three runs on six hits in five innings of work. He walked one and left with Marietta trailing 3-2. Junior Chris Stewart (Dublin/Dublin Coffman), who took the loss, allowed five unearned runs on three hits. Remenowsky got the win in game one for the Cardinals to improve to 3-1. He went the distance, giving up five runs on 10 hits with nine strikeouts and two walks.

Marietta out hit Otterbein 10-9 in the opener. Cimino led the attack with a 3-for-3 performance, while Piconke and Cribbins both had two hits in the loss. Otterbein's Chris Kovanda and Aaron Hutchison both had a pair of hits in the win.

Otterbein led off game two with four straight singles and plated two runs against Merryman, the Pioneers’ starter in game two. Merryman retired the next three hitters to get out of the first inning jam. The Cardinals followed up in the second with eight more runs on eight hits, including two home runs to make the score 10-0 after two. The Cardinals added five more in the third to increase their lead to 15-0.

Marietta came back with three runs in the fourth. Freshman Britt Meador (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) hit a two-run home run and Penwell hit solo home run in the inning.

After a 50-minute rain delay, Marietta plated three more in the fifth to cut the lead to 15-6. Senior Dom Winters (Washington, Pa.) used a sacrifice fly to plate the first run of the inning. Sophomore Matt DeSico (Euclid) then homered to right to drive in two more. Back-to-back doubles by Cimino and Winters scored two more in the sixth to make the score 15-8.

Otterbein added three huge insurance runs in the eighth to make the score 18-8. Marietta bounced back scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by a Danny Jones (Lima/Shawnee) two-run home run.

Otterbein’s Hiscox added a solo home run in the ninth to make the score 19-11. Piconke then belted a grand slam to right field in the ninth but it would not be enough as the Cardinals held on for the wild 19-15 victory.

Merryman (3-4) took the loss for Marietta, giving up 10 runs on 12 hits in only 1 2/3 innings of work. Sophomore Nate Eschbaugh (Marietta), junior Jason Baumler (Crownsville, Md./Old Mill), freshman Casey Levens (Dayton/Centerville) and Penwell all saw action on the mound for the Pioneers in game two. Doug Stevens (3-1) earned the win for the Cardinals after giving up seven runs on nine hits in five innings.

Marietta (16 hits) and Otterbein (22 hits) combined for 34 runs on 36 hits in the nightcap. Piconke and Penwell both went 4-for-4, while Meador and Jones had a pair of hits in the loss. Every Cardinal had a hit; Hiscox finished 4-for-6, while Kovanda, Chris Edwards and Brandon Mauck all added three hits in the win.

Marietta returns to action on Wednesday (April 23) afternoon when La Roche (Pa.) College will visit Don Schaly Stadium for a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. Both games can be heard live locally in Marietta on WMOA-AM 1490 and over the Internet at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html.