ADA, Ohio — Senior designated hitter Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa., Hampton) tied a school and Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) single-game record with 10 RBI to highlight #8 Marietta College's 21-4 and 16-1 sweep of host Ohio Northern University Saturday (April 10) afternoon at Wander Field. [Game 1 Box Score] [Game 2 Box Score]

The Etta Express regained sole possession of first place in the OAC with a 5-1 record and improved to 20-5 overall. 2010 marks the 40th straight year that Marietta has collected at least 20 wins in a season. The Polar Bears fell from first place and now stand 16-5 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Marietta had 22 hits, including four three-run home runs and three doubles, in the opener.

Beatty, who finished 3-for-5, hit a three-run home run in both the first and fourth innings. He also added a RBI ground out in the second, a two-run double in the sixth and a sacrifice fly in the seventh to give him 10 RBI. It was one more than he had in a game earlier this year against Illinois Wesleyan. Beatty, who now has a team-best nine home runs and 45 RBI, joined Chris Tekulve (2000) and Brent Curtin (2003) in holding a share of the OAC record.

Freshman right fielder Jordan Grilliot (Brookville, Northmont) collected a game-high four hits and scored four runs, sophomore shortstop Tim Saunders (Alliance, Alliance), who hit a three-run home run in the fourth, was 3-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBI, junior center fielder John Snyder (Altoona, Pa., Altoona), who stretched his hitting streak to 19 games with hits in both games, went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, sophomore second baseman Kirby Becker (South Euclid, St. Ignatius) went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while junior first baseman Casey Levens (Dayton, Centerville) was 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in the fourth.

Marietta took the lead with a five-run first and a two-run second. Ohio Northern answered with four runs in its half of the second to make it 7-4. The Pioneers then broke it open with 10 runs in the fourth before adding three more in the sixth and another in the seventh en route to the 21-4 win.

Junior Mark Williams (Fayetteville, Perry) earned the victory by scattering four runs on seven hits over five innings. Williams (5-3) walked one and struck out a career-high nine. Freshmen Evan Brockmeier (Marietta, Marietta) and Luke Langdon (Troy, Troy) finished the game with scoreless innings of relief.

Marietta's bats continued to batter Ohio Northern pitching in game two as they produced 16 more runs on 16 hits. The Polar Bears had nine hits but were hurt by six errors in the loss.

The Etta Express wasted no time jumping on the Polar Bears in game two as it plated seven runs in the first. Ohio Northern scored its only run on a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the first frame. Marietta then scored four runs in the third and three runs in the fourth before tacking on the final two runs in the ninth to make the final score 16-1.

Saunders led the offense with a 3-for-4 and three-run performance in the lead off spot. Griliot scored a team-best four runs scored, while Snyder went 2-for-4 with a team-high four RBI. Freshman Braden Park (Oxford, Talawanda), Becker, senior catcher Dan Jones (Lima, Shawnee), and freshman left fielder Niko Stanislav (Olmsted Falls, Berea) all added a pair of hits in the victory.

Sophomore Austin Blaski (Pandora, Gilboa) overcame the first pitch home run to scatter just four more hits and strike out five over his six innings of work to pick up the victory and improve to 5-1. Sophomores Brian Gasser (New Philadelphia, Indian Valley), Mike Mahaffey (Worthington, Bishop Watterson) and Kyle Lindquist (Columbus, Worthington Kilbourne) all threw scoreless innings to wrap up the game.

The Pioneers look to continue their momentum Tuesday (April 13) afternoon when they play an OAC doubleheader against visiting Capital University. First pitch at Don Schaly Stadium is slated for 4 p.m. Fans can listen locally on WMOA-AM 1490. John Wharff and Mark Bradley will be on the microphones to bring you all of the action. Their broadcast can also be heard online at http://wmoa1490.com. Live, pitch-by-pitch statistics can also be tracked online at http://www.marietta.edu/athletics/livestats/xlive.htm.