WASHINGTON, Pa. — Junior Tyler Penwell (Washington Court House/Washington Court House) (Washington Court House) drilled a go ahead grand slam in the top of the eighth to propel the #14 Marietta College baseball team to a 10-7 victory over host Washington & Jefferson College on Friday (March 27) night in a game originally slated for Thursday (March 26). The win, Marietta's fifth in a row, improved the Pioneers' record to 10-3. The Presidents fell to 6-4 on the year.

Sophomore John Snyder (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) (Altoona, Pa.) led off the game with a single to right. Senior Justin Merryman (New Philadelphia/New Philadelphia) (New Philadelphia) followed with a double to left, advancing Snyder to third. Senior Cameron Cimino (Boardman/Boardman) (Boardman) drove in Snyder and moved Merryman to third with a sacrifice fly. Merryman crossed the plate moments later on a wild pitch to give Marietta a 2-0 lead.

Washington & Jefferson responded by scoring a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the frame to knot the score at 2-2.

The Etta Express regained a two-run advantage in the fourth. Junior Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) legged out an infield single. Junior Matt DeSico (Euclid/Euclid) (Euclid), the next hitter, doubled; Beatty moved to third on the play. Senior Brennan Cribbins (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) then picked up a RBI on a ground out, and freshman Tim Saunders (Alliance/Alliance) (Alliance) added another on a sacrifice fly.

The Presidents took advantage of three walks and a second Pioneer error of the game to even the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth.

Sophomore Mark Williams (Fayetteville/Perry) (Fayetteville/Perry) worked in and out of trouble for five innings before giving way to sophomore Dave Van Voorhees (Bethesda, Md./Bullis) (Bethesda, Md./Bullis). Williams allowed four unearned runs on six hits; he walked four and fanned six in the no decision.

A walk to junior Dan Jones (Lima/Shawnee) (Lima/Shawnee) and then a pair of wild pitches helped Marietta break the tie in the seventh. Jones advanced to second on the first wild pitch, moved to third on a single by Snyder and scored on the second wild pitch of the inning to put the Pioneers on top 3-2.

Again, Washington & Jefferson responded. This time it took the lead with a two-run home run by Mark Thomchick in the bottom of the seventh.

Penwell, however, put the Etta Express back on top 9-6 with the one-out grand slam in the eighth. DeSico, sophomore Jordan Thompson (Quaker City/Buckeye Trail) (Quaker City/Buckeye Trail) and Saunders all scored on the home run, Penwell's second of the year. Marietta added a fifth run in the frame when Jones beat out an infield single and later scored on a Merryman RBI single.

Van Voorhees, who earned the victory to improve to 2-0, allowed his third run of the game in the eighth. He finished the night by giving up just one earned run on four hits while striking out one in 2 2/3 innings. Senior Nate Eschbaugh (Marietta/Marietta) (Marietta), who entered with two outs in the eighth, recorded the final four outs to pick up the save.

Snyder, Merryman and Cribbins all had two hits for Marietta, which finished with 11 on the night. The Pioneers overcame four errors in the win. Washington & Jefferson collected 12 hits and made one error in the loss.

Marietta resumes Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play on Saturday (March 28) afternoon when the Pioneers play host to Capital University. First pitch at Don Schaly Stadium has been moved up to 12 p.m. Fans can listen to the game on WMOA-AM 1490 or online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html. In addition, live stats will be available at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/livestats/xlive.htm.