ADA — Marietta's John Burns is one of the best Division III pitchers in the nation, and he delivered a clutch performance as the Pioneers defeated York (Pa.) 7-1 in the NCAA Mideast Regional on Friday, May 22.
 
Burns threw a complete-game one-hitter and now Marietta (54-5-3) will face Alma in the regional final on Saturday. The Pioneers will need to defeat Alma twice to advance to the World Series, which opens on Friday, May 29.
 
York first baseman Dave Hile had the lone hit, a solo home run in the third inning that cut Marietta's lead to 2-1. However, the Pioneers regained the momentum and increased their lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the third.
 
Jon Shuler scored on Ken Lisko's sacrifice fly to center and then Dan Munday scored on Mark Talarico's single to left. The Pioneers added another run in the fifth when Tom Mohl tripled to center, which scored Shuler.
 
Marietta added individual runs in the sixth and eighth innings.
 
Jim Pancher went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Pioneers, while Talarico went 2-for-4 with two runs.