ABILENE, Texas — The #13 Marietta College baseball team opened day two of the Abilene Classic with a match-up against host Abilene Christian University, ranked #5 in NCAA Division II. The Pioneers went toe-to-toe with the Wildcats but fell 4-2 to drop to 3-1 on the young season. Abilene Christian improved to 19-5 on the spring.
Marietta was out hit 10-6 and made two costly errors early in the game, which led to two unearned runs. The Pioneers stranded six runners, while the Wildcats left nine on base.
Abilene Christian struck for an unearned run against Marietta senior starter Jason Baumler (Crownsville, Md./Old Mill) (Crownsville, Md./Old Mill) in the bottom of the first inning.
The Wildcats loaded the bases and threaten to break the game open in the second, but Baumler, who walked in a run, struck out Abilene's leading hitter to get out of the jam after giving up just one run in the frame.
Abilene Christian added another unearned run in the third to build its lead to 3-0.
The Etta Express finally got on the board and cut into the lead in the top of the sixth. Sophomore Britt Meador (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) worked a lead-off walk. Senior Cameron Cimino (Boardman/Boardman) (Boardman) then laced a two-run home run to right center field to pull his squad within a run, 3-2. Junior Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) followed with a triple to center field, which put they tying run 90-feet away with no outs. Beatty, however, was stranded at third as Abilene Christian maintained a one-run lead.
Baumler (0-1) worked six solid innings against the offensive-minded Wildcats, who entered averaging nearly eight runs over their first 23 games. The right-hander allowed three runs (one earned) on seven hits while finishing with both four walks and four strikeouts.
The Wildcats added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh against sophomore Dave Van Voorhees (Bethesda, Md./Bullis) (Bethesda, Md./Bullis). Van Voorhees settled down and induced an inning-ending double play to limit the damage to one run.
Corey Kelly (1-0) earned the win for the Wildcats after allowing two runs on five hits over five innings. Brad Rutherford picked up his fourth save; he allowed just one hit and fanned three in two innings.
Cimino finished with two of Marietta's six hits and had two RBI in the loss. Jordan Schmitt went 3-for-4 and Bret Bochsier added a pair of hits for Abilene Christian in the win.
Marietta is back in action Tuesday (March 10) night when the Etta Express visits McMurry University. First pitch is slated for 8 p.m.
Marietta baseball fans can once again follow all of the action during the 2009 season when John Wharff and Mark Bradley broadcast each game on WMOA-AM 1490. The games can also be heard online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html. Live stats will be available at http://livestats.internetconsult.com/mcmurry/baseball/.
