ABILENE, Texas — Sophomore second baseman Kirby Becker (South Euclid, St. Ignatius) went 4-for-6 and a trio of teammates added three hits to lead #14 Marietta College past the University of Texas at Tyler 18-5 Monday (March 8) afternoon on the campus of McMurry University. [Box Score]

Marietta (2-1) had its bats explode for a season-high 19 hits, 10 of which came by the bottom three of the order. Texas-Tyler (9-7) finished with 10 hits in the loss.

Sophomore shortstop Tim Saunders (Alliance, Alliance) went 3-for-5 and junior left fielder Jordan Thompson (Quaker City, Buckeye Trail) was 3-for-4 to add to Becker's four hits in the win. The Pioneers' 7-8-9 hitters also combined for eight runs scored and five RBI.

Senior catcher Dan Jones (Lima, Shawnee) also added three hits to go along with four RBI, while freshman third baseman Braden Park (Oxford, Talawanda) had two hits and three RBI and senior designated hitter Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa., Hampton) finished with two hits and two more RBI.

The Patriots took the early 1-0 lead on a solo home run to center field by Jake Ashley in the second inning.

Marietta responded with a five-run third to take its first lead of the afternoon. Thompson and Saunders hit back-to-back one-out singles. After a walk to junior John Snyder (Altoona, Pa., Altoona) loaded the bases, Park drove in Thompson and Saunders with a single to left. Snyder scored the third run on a wild pitch, and Jones picked up two RBI with a double to right center, which plated Park and Levens, who walked earlier in the frame.

UT-Tyler quickly climbed back within two run, 5-3, after a two-run home run by Austin Newell in the bottom of the third.

The scoring continued for the Etta Express with three more runs in the fourth. Becker singled and later scored on a throwing error. Park and Beatty both added run-scoring singles in the frame.

Three straight one-out doubles by Becker, Saunders and Thompson helped Marietta increase its lead to 10-3 in the fifth.

Jones added another RBI single in the sixth to stretch the lead to 11-3. Beatty, who singled to start the frame, scored on the play.

The Patriots' third solo home run of the game, this time from Aaron McCain, came in the sixth to decrease their deficit back to seven run, 11-4.

Saunders opened the seventh with a double. Thompson followed with another double, which plated Saunders. Thompson then stole third and scored Marietta's 13th run of the game on a wild pitch.

Jones reached first after being hit by a pitch to begin the eighth. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out RBI single by Becker to make the score 14-4 in favor of the Etta Express.

Marietta capped its scoring with a four-run ninth. Beatty picked up the first RBI after he reached on an error. Jones, sophomore Niko Stanislav (Olmsted Falls, Berea) and Becker then added three straight RBI singles.

Texas-Tyler made it 18-5 when Newell doubled  home a run in the bottom of the ninth.

Sophomore Brian Gasser (New Philadelphia, Indian Valley), making his second start of the season, scattered four runs on eight his over seven innings to earn his first win of the year. Gasser (1-0) struck out two and walked three in the victory. Freshman Luke Langdon (Troy, Troy) threw the final two frames, giving up one run on two hits.

Tyler Brevard took the loss to fall to 0-1. He gave up five runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings.

Marietta returns to action when its takes on the University of Texas at Dallas at 7 p.m. The single, nine-inning match-up will take place on the campus of Hardin-Simmons University. Fans can listen to the game on WMOA-AM 1490 and online at http://wmoa1490.com. Live stats will be available at http://livestats.prestosports.com/hardinsimmons/.