MEMPHIS, Tenn. — #14 Marietta College baseball opened up its 2010 season by splitting a doubleheader with host Rhodes College Saturday (March 5) afternoon. The Etta Express captured game one 3-0, while the Lynx won game two 4-3 in 10 innings.

Junior Mark Williams (Fayetteville, Perry) (1-0) dominated game one, throwing a complete game, two-hit shutout. Williams struck out eight and walked one in the victory.

Marietta (1-1) out hit Rhodes (9-3) 5-2 in game one. Senior designated hitter Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa., Hampton) went 2-for-3, while junior first baseman Casey Levens (Dayton, Centerville), sophomore second baseman Kirby Becker (South Euclid, St. Ignatius) and sophomore shortstop Tim Saunders (Alliance, Alliance) all had hits in the win.

The Pioneers took a 1-0 advantage in the first inning when Levens drove in Beatty with a RBI double to right.

Marietta increased its lead to 2-0 in the fifth when Becker singled home Saunders, who led off the frame with a walk.

The Etta Express capped the scoring in the seventh. Saunders reached on a single and later scored on a RBI ground out by sophomore third baseman Kyle Lindquist (Columbus, Worthington Kilbourne).

Rhodes struck first in the night cap with three runs in the third inning to take the early advantage.

Marietta answered with a single run in the fourth when Becker drove in freshman right fielder Aaron Hopper (Wheelersburg, Wheelersburg) with a two-out RBI single.

Levens and Hopper came through with RBI singles to help the Etta Express tie the game at 3-3 in the fifth.

Both teams threatened in the eighth. Marietta had runners on first and second with nobody out, while Rhodes had the winning run on third with two outs. Neither team, however, scored.

The Lynx finally came through with the winning run on a one-out sacrifice fly in the 10th to secure the 4-3 win.

Levens paced the offense, which out hit Rhodes 10-9, with a 3-for-5 performance at the plate. Junior center fielder John Snyder (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) added a pair of hits in the loss.

Sophomore starter Brian Gasser (New Philadelphia, Indian Valley) allowed two runs on one hit while walking one in 2 1/3 innings. Sophomore Mike Mahaffey (Worthington, Bishop Watterson), who walked one and struck out another, gave up one run on one hit over the next 1 2/3 innings. Sophomore Kyle Lindquist (Columbus, Worthington Kilbourne) worked five strong innings, allowing no runs on four hits and striking out three. Levens (0-1) took the loss. He gave up one run on two hits in 2/3 of an inning.

Marietta is back in action on Monday (March 8) when the Pioneers begin a five-game stretch in Abilene, Texas. The Etta Express will take on Texas-Tyler at McMurry at 2 p.m. and then Texas-Dallas at Hardin-Simmons at 6 p.m. Catch the action live on WMOA-AM 1490 or online at http://wmoa1490.com.