DELAWARE, Ohio — Ohio Wesleyan University jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and then held on for an 8-6 victory over visiting Marietta College Wednesday (April 2) afternoon, sending the Pioneers to a second loss in as many days against a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) foe and Mideast Region rival.
The Etta Express, ranked #14 in the latest ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Poll and #15 in the most recent NBCWA/D3baseball.com Poll, fell to 13-5 on the season. Former Pioneer assistant Tyler Mott's Battling Bishops improved to 11-10 on the year.
Marietta and Ohio Wesleyan both finished with 10 hits and each made a pair of errors in the game. The Pioneers, however, stranded 13 runners on base, while the Battling Bishops left six.
Unfortunately for the Etta Express, both errors came in the first inning and allowed the Bishops to build an early 5-0 lead against sophomore starter Dave Van Voorhees (Bethesda, Md./Bullis) (Bethesda, Md./Bullis). Van Voorhees (2-2) took the loss after allowing those five runs (two earned) on three hits in one inning.
Marietta's offense battled back with three runs in the second. Sophomore Jordan Thompson (Quaker City/Buckeye Trail) (Quaker City/Buckeye Trail), who finished 2-for-4, drove in the senior Brennan Cribbins (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) (Middleburg Heights/Midpark), who also had a pair of hits in five at-bats, with a single to right. Senior Justin Merryman (New Philadelphia/New Philadelphia) (New Philadelphia) added a single later in the inning to plate two unearned runs.
Ohio Wesleyan extended its lead to 6-3 with a solo home run to start the second against junior Nate Eschbaugh (Marietta/Marietta) (Marietta). Eschbaugh, however, settled down and allowed just one more hit and struck out two over four frames to keep his team in the game.
Marietta pulled within a run in the third when junior Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) was hit by a pitch and scored on a double play and junior Matt DeSico (Euclid/Euclid) (Euclid) walked and scored on a RBI double by Thompson.
The Battling Bishops added two insurance runs against freshman Brian Gasser (New Philadelphia/Indian Valley) (New Philadelphia/Indian Valley) in the seventh. Senior T.J. Knowlton (Greenwich/Mapleton) (Greenwich/Mapleton), however, entered and got out of the jam with a double play ball. Gasser was charged with two runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings, whle Knowlton allowed just one hit in 1 2/3 frames.
A double by Beatty and a single by Cribbins helped the Etta Express plate a run with two outs in the eighth but it could not get any closer, and Ohio Wesleyan held on for the 8-6 win.
Kevin Schindler (2-1) picked up the win after allowed three unearned runs on three hits in two innings. Robbie Shane earned the save after recording the final four outs of the game.
The Pioneers will look to bounce back and remain undefeated in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play when it visits University Heights, Ohio, on Saturday (April 4) for a doubleheader against John Carroll University. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. Fans can listen to the game locally on WMOA-AM 1490 and online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html.
