TIFFIN, Ohio — Junior left-handed relief specialist Chris Stewart (Dublin/Dublin Coffman) (Dublin/Coffman) threw 6 2/3 of one-run baseball to propel third-seeded Marietta College to an 8-7 victory over fourth-seeded John Carroll University Saturday (May 9) in the first elimination game of the 2009 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament, hosted by Heidelberg University.

The win improved the Pioneers' record to 28-14 and extended their season. Head Coach Brian Brewer's squad will take on second-seeded Otterbein College in another elimination game Saturday afternoon. The Blue Streaks finished the year 24-12.

Marietta trailed 6-4 after the first three innings of the game. Stewart, who entered with one-out in the third, scattered just one run on five hits the rest of the game. He walked two and fanned four. Stewart's performance allowed the Etta Express to chip away at the deficit. Marietta tied the game in the seventh and then took the lead for good in the eighth to give Stewart the win, which improved his record to 5-2.

Marietta pushed across a run in the top of the first to take the early lead. Senior Cameron Cimino (Boardman/Boardman) (Boardman) singled with one out. Junior Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) followed with a walk. Sophomore Casey Levens (Dayton/Centerville) (Dayton/Centerville) then hit a double over the center fielder's head, driving in Cimino from second base. Tim O'Brien hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot, to give John Carroll a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the frame.

The Blue Streaks added two runs, one earned, in the bottom of the second to increase their advantage to 4-1. The Etta Express evened the score with a three-run third. Once again, the trio of Cimino, Beatty and Levens provided the offensive firepower. Cimino began the frame with his second single of the game. Beatty added another single. Levens then cleared the bases with a three-run home run to left center, which knotted the game at 4-4. The home run was the seventh of the season for Levens.

John Carroll regained the lead 6-4 and knocked Marietta's senior starter T.J. Knowlton (Greenwich/Mapleton) (Greenwich/Mapleton) out of the game in the third. Knowlton allowed six runs on five hits and struck out one in 2 1/3 innings.

Marietta pulled within a run in the sixth. Sophomore Jordan Thompson (Quaker City/Buckeye Trail) (Quaker City/Buckeye Trail) reached on an error to start the frame. Back-to-back walks to DeSico and Cimino loaded the bases with no outs. Beatty then drove in Thompson with a RBI single to left field. The Pioneers, however, failed to plate another run in the inning.

Marietta tied the game at 6-6 in the seventh. Freshman Kyle Lindquist (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) led off by being hit by a pitch. Junior Dan Jones (Lima/Shawnee) (Lima/Shawnee) sacrificed him to second with a bunt. Freshman Tim Saunders (Alliance/Alliance) (Alliance) then came through with a run-scoring single up the middle to plated Lindquist.

The Etta Express completed its comeback with a two-run eighth. Junior Matt DeSico (Euclid/Euclid) (Euclid) and Cimino slugged back-to-back doubles to start the frame. Levens drove in DeSico, his fifth RBI of the game, with a sacrifice fly to left. Saunders then reached on an infield single; Cimino scored on a throwing error on the play. John Carroll scraped across a run in the bottom of the eighth, but Stewart retired the side in order in the ninth to seal the win.

Cimino once again led the attack with three hits in four at-bats. Levens was one of fourth players to add two hits; he finished with a game-high five RBI. Beatty, Saunders and sophomore John Snyder (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) (Altoona, Pa.) also had a pair of hits in the win.

Adam Milanovich paced the Blue Streak offense with three hits, while Michael Krainz added two in the loss.

Fans can listen to all of Marietta's games on WMOA-AM 1490 and online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html. In addition, live stats are available at http://www.heidelberg.edu/statcrew/mbb/xlive.htm.