ADRIAN, Mich. — The four-time National Champion Marietta College baseball team opened 2009 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional play with an impressive 14-3 victory over host Adrian (Mich.) College on Thursday (May 14) evening at Nicloay Field.

The third-seeded Pioneers improved to 30-15 and advance to take on rival the second-seeded College of Wooster in a winner's bracket game on Friday (May 15) evening at 5 p.m. Thursday marked the 32nd time in the last 33 years that Marietta has won at least 30 games in a season. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs fell to 31-10 and will battle sixth-seeded Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Friday at 2 p.m.

The Etta Express out hit the Bulldogs 17-7 and had four big innings at the plate to propel it to the victory. Senior left-hander Chris Stewart (Dublin/Dublin Coffman) (Dublin/Coffman), meanwhile, worked six strong innings to earn the win, which improved Marietta's record to 24-10 all-time in Mideast Regional openers.

Marietta wasted no time jumping out to an early lead against host Adrian. Sophomore John Snyder (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) (Altoona, Pa.) led off with a double to right center. Snyder moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Kyle Lindquist (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne). Senior Cameron Cimino (Boardman/Boardman) (Boardman) followed with a RBI single to center, which plated Snyder. Cimino then stole second and moved to third a single by junior Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton). He scored moments later after Beatty stole second base and the throw went into center field. Beatty advanced to third on the throwing error. Sophomore Casey Levens (Dayton/Centerville) (Dayton/Centerville) drove in Beatty with the third run on a sacrifice fly to center field.

The Bulldogs answered with two runs on three hits in the top of the second to quickly claw back within a run, 3-2.

The Etta Express extended its lead in the third. Lindquist opened the frame with a walk. Cimino hit a double to right center, while Beatty followed with a RBI single to shortstop. Levens then added a double to left, which drove in Cimino. Junior Matt DeSico (Euclid/Euclid) (Euclid) followed with a two-run single to plate Beatty and Levens and give Marietta the 7-2 advantage. Freshman Tim Saunders (Alliance/Alliance) (Alliance) then came through with a RBI double down the right field line to score DeSico from first and knock Adrian sophomore starter Ryan Domschot out of the game after just 2 1/3 innings.

The advantage grew to eight runs, 10-2, when Marietta pushed across two more in the fourth. Levens hit a one-out single to left field and advanced to second a wild pitch. A single by DeSico moved Levens to third. Junior Dan Jones (Lima/Shawnee) (Lima/Shawnee) plated Levens with a RBI ground out. Saunders then doubled down the right field line to drive in DeSico.

The Etta Express kept rolling in the sixth. Levens led off with a double. Jones followed with a RBI single to center. Saunders was then hit by a pitch and sophomore Jordan Thompson (Quaker City/Buckeye Trail) (Quaker City/Buckeye Trail) walked to load the bases. Snyder then cleared the bases with a three-run triple to right center to give Marietta the 14-2 lead.

The Bulldogs scored a run on back-to-back hits to start the seventh, which ended Stewart's night. Stewart (6-2) scattered three runs on seven hits and struck out four in six innings. Sophomore Mark Williams (Fayetteville/Perry) (Fayetteville/Perry) replaced him and retired three of the four batters that he faced in the inning to get keep the lead at 11 runs, 14-3.

Junior Nate Eschbaugh (Marietta/Marietta) (Marietta) followed Williams with a scoreless eighth frame, while freshman Austin Blaski (Pandora/Gilboa) (Pandora/Gilboa) pitched a perfect ninth to seal the win.

Four Marietta players had three hits in the game. Snyder went 3-for-5 with a run scored and three RBI. Levens finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. DeSico went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and a pair of RBI. Saunders was 3-for-3 with two RBI. Cimino and Beatty both added a pair of hits in the win.

Marietta fans can listen to all of the Pioneer's Mideast Regional action on WMOA-AM 1490 and online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html.Live statistics of all the games will also be available at http://www.adrian.edu/sports/livestats/xlive.htm.