TIFFIN, Ohio — Junior Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) slugged two home runs, including a two-run walk off in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel third-seeded Marietta College to a 10-9 victory over second-seeded Otterbein College in game five of the 2009 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Baseball Tournament.

Head Coach Brian Brewer's squad improved to 29-14 and will take on top-seeded and host Heidelberg University in the OAC Championship Game on Sunday (May 10) morning. First pitch is slated for 11 a.m. The Etta Express will need to defeat the Student Princes twice to secure its 32nd OAC Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Mideast Regional Tournament, which is being hosted by Adrian (Mich.) College May13-17. The two schools met in the OAC title came a year ago with Heidelberg topping Marietta twice to claim the crown. Otterbein finished its year 23-17.

Otterbein, who defeated Marietta 18-10 in game two of the tournament, came out swinging again on Saturday, plating two runs on four hits in the first inning. The Cardinals extended their lead to 4-0 with when Brandon Hiscox hit a two-run home run, his 18th of the spring, in the second frame.

Marietta fought back within a run in the third. Senior Cameron Cimino (Boardman/Boardman) (Boardman) ignited the offense with a one-out triple to right center field. Beatty walked. Sophomore Casey Levens (Dayton/Centerville) (Dayton/Centerville) drove in a run while reaching on an error. Senior Brennan Cribbins (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) delivered a RBI single through the right side to plate Beatty. Levens later scored on a balk and it was 4-3 after three innings.

The Cardinals built their lead back to three runs after scoring a pair in the fourth. The Etta Express answered with three more runs in the fourth to tie the game at 6-6. A pitch hit freshman Kyle Lindquist (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) to start the inning. Freshman Tim Saunders (Alliance/Alliance) (Alliance) doubled. Freshman Niko Stanislav (Olmsted Falls/Berea) (Olmsted Falls/Berea) then drove in Lindquist with a groundout. Cimino followed with a two-run homer to right field, his 10th of the year.

Otterbein regained the lead with a run in the top of the sixth. Marietta scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to go on top 8-7. Beatty hit a solo shot to left field with one out. Levens followed with a single and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Junior Matt DeSico (Euclid/Euclid) (Euclid) then drove in Levens with a single through the right side.

A two-run single by A.J. Barnes gave the advantage back to Otterbein in the top of the ninth, putting Marietta's season in jeopardy. Saunders, however, opened the Pioneers' final at-bat with a single to center. Junior Dan Jones (Lima/Shawnee) (Lima/Shawnee) sacrificed Saunders to second base. A fly out by Cimino moved Saunders to third, setting the stage for Beatty. Beatty fouled off a series of pitches to work the count full. He then drilled a pitch over the fence in right field to give the Etta Express the thrilling 10-9 win.

Marietta out hit Otterbein 15-12. Both teams left double-digit runners on base; the Pioneers stranded 12 and the Cardinals left 11. Otterbein had three errors, while Marietta overcame one.

Beatty, who now has a team-high 12 home runs, finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI. Cimino, who is hitting .667 (10-for-15) during this year's OAC Tournament, went 3-for-6, while Levens, Saunders and sophomore John Snyder (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) (Altoona, Pa.) all had a pair of hits in the victory. Brandon Gessner led Otterbein with four hits, while Barnes had three and John Sansbury finished with two in the loss.

Lindquist earned his first career victory after pitching the top of the ninth. The right-hander allowed two runs on two hits but Beatty's blast helped him improve to 1-0 on the year. Freshman Austin Blaski (Pandora/Gilboa) (Pandora/Gilboa) allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits and struck out three over the first three innings. Sophomore Mark Williams (Fayetteville/Perry) (Fayetteville/Perry) gave Marietta five strong innings, limiting Otterbein to one run on two hits. He struck out four in the game.

Matt Hopkins (0-3) took the loss after giving up two runs on two hits in 2/3 of an inning. Cardinal starter John LaCorte scattered six runs (five earned) on eight hits and struck out five over the first six frames. Alex Hayes threw two innings; he allowed two runs on five hits and fanned three.

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.