MARIETTA, Ohio — Saturday (April 17) afternoon's 12th annual Community Day crowd at Don Schaly Stadium witnessed #4 Heidelberg University and host #7 Marietta College go to battle for 16 innings in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) baseball action and both teams leave with a win and a loss. The Etta Express captured the opener 11-8, while the Student Princes came on top in the nightcap 15-14. [Game 1 Box Score] [Game 2 Box Score]

Marietta and Heidelberg entered with identical overall records and that did not change as both Mideast powers ended the day 24-6. The Pioneers maintained their place atop the league standings and are now 8-2, while the Student Princes remain one game back in the loss column at 5-3. Otterbein College, who split with Mount Union College, and John Carroll University, who swept Capital University, are both right on Marietta's heals with 6-2 OAC records.

The Etta Express out hit the Berg 12-8 and overcame two errors while its opponent had one in the 11-8 win for Marietta.

Heidelberg opened the doubleheader with a three-run first inning to jump out to the early lead. Marietta got on the board in the bottom of the first when junior left fielder Britt Meador (Columbus, Worthington Kilbourne) drove in freshman right fielder Jordan Grilliot (Brookville, Northmont) with a two-out single to center.

The Pioneers then took the lead for good with a four-run second. Sophomore shortstop Tim Saunders (Alliance, Alliance) worked a bases loaded walk to drive in the first run. Junior center fielder John Snyder (Altoona, Pa., Altoona) followed with a two-run single and senior designated hitter Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa., Hampton) added a RBI single in the frame.

Marietta put another four-spot on the scoreboard in the fourth. Saunders drove in junior first baseman Casey Levens (Dayton, Centerville) with a double down the right field line. Saunders then scored a run on a throwing error and freshman third baseman Braden Park (Oxford, Talawanda) followed with a two-run single up the middle to stretch the Pioneers' advantage to 9-3.

Heidelberg added two runs in the top, and Marietta answered with a pair in the bottom of the fifth. Again, it was Saunders who came through with a two-run single, which plated both senior catcher Dan Jones (Lima, Shawnee) and sophomore second baseman Kirby Becker (South Euclid, St. Ignatius) to make it 11-6 after five innings.

The Student Princes did not go down quietly as they scored three runs in the top of the seventh before sophomore Kyle Lindquist (Columbus, Worthington Kilbourne) came in to get the final two outs and earned his fifth save of the spring.

Sophomore right-hander Austin Blaski (Pandora, Gilboa) improved to 6-1 with his 6 1/3 inning effort on the mound. Blaski scattered eight runs (five earned) on eight hits, walked two and struck out seven in the victory.

Heidelberg starter Nathan James suffered the loss to fall to 5-2 after giving up five runs on five hits with five walks and two strikeouts in two innings.

Saunders led the Pioneer offense with a 2-for-3 and four RBI performance from the leadoff spot. Levens finished 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles. Snyder extended his hitting streak to 23 games and went 2-for-2, while Becker also had two hits in the win.

Willie Brechun, who hit his fourth home run of the season, and Steve Decker both went 2-for-4 in the loss.

A pair of solo home runs in the top of the ninth helped the Student Princes take game two 15-14 and salvage the important split.

Heidelberg finished with 15 runs on 17 hits and overcame four errors and 12 stranded runners. Marietta collected 15 hits, made three costly errors and left nine on base in the loss.

Marietta took the lead in the nightcap with a five-run second. The Pioneers loaded the bases for Saunders, who quickly cleared them with a triple to right. He also scored on a throwing error during the play. Grilliot followed with a bunt single and Snyder moved his hitting streak to 24 games with a RBI double, which knocked out Heidelberg starter Sylvester Nino after just 1 1/3 frames. Closer Andy Lowe relieved Nino and got out of the jam by retiring two of the next three hitters.

Heidelberg got to Maretta starter Mark Williams (Fayetteville, Perry) for three runs in the top of the third to cut the deficit to two runs, 5-3. Williams lasted just three innings, giving up three runs on five hits while walking three and striking out four.

The Student Princes tied the game at 6-6 when Ricardo Lizcano belted a three-run home run in the top of the fourth. They then took their first lead of the game when Lizcano hit another home run, a solo shot, in the top of the sixth.

Marietta responded with a three-run bottom of the sixth to regain the advantage, 9-7. Snyder drove in a run with his second double of the game. Two more runs crossed the plate when Meador plated Synder with a single and Grilliot scored on an error during the play.

Both teams scored four runs in the seventh, which brought the score to 13-11 in favor of the Etta Express. Beatty had a two-run single, while Meador followed with a RBI hit after Becker scored the first run on an error.

Heidelberg evened the score at 13-13 in the eighth and then took the lead for good with solo home runs by Gar Keen and Jason Lash in the ninth. Beatty slugged his 11th home run and picked up his 52st RBI of the season in the bottom of the ninth but it was just a solo shot and the Student Princes held on for the 15-14 victory.

Lowe worked in and out of trouble over the final 7 2/3 innings to earn the win and improve to 2-1. The 2009 Kent Tekulve OAC Pitcher of the Year gave up nine runs (four earned) on 10 hits and fanned seven.

Sophomore Mike Mahaffey (Worthington, Bishop Watterson) was handed the loss after allowing the two home runs in his only inning of work. He now stands at 2-1 on the season.

Jones led Marietta with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate. The Pioneers' top five hitters in the lineup—Saunders, Grilliot, Snyder, Beatty and Meador—all finished the game with two hits.

Lizcano, Decker and Lash all had three hits, while Keen, Alex Monroe and Derek Andrzejczak finished with two for Heidelberg.

Marietta is back in action Wednesday (April 21) afternoon when it visits Muskingum University for an OAC doubleheader at 1 p.m. WMOA-AM 1490 will broadcast the gamesl locally on the radio and online at http://wmoa1490.com.