MARIETTA, Ohio — When the Mideast Regional bracket was announced it would have been a natural assumption to expect Marietta and Wooster to meet in the second round.

Just not in the loser's bracket.

So in their 19th all-time regional match up, Marietta got the better of its rival and remains alive with a 6-0 victory in Game 5 Thursday (May 20, 2010) at Don Schaly Stadium. Marietta is now 12-7 all-time against the Scots in regional action. [Box Score] [Photo Gallery]

The Pioneers (33-12) staved off elimination by playing solid defense and getting a near-perfect pitching performance from starter Brian Gasser (New Philadelphia/Indian Valley) (9-1).

"Brian was exceptional on the mound. We made some nice plays defensively behind him. Pitching and defense are what this program are founded on," said Marietta coach Brian Brewer. "(Gasser's pitching performance) was huge, especially in an elimination game and for me it's right up there on top. Hopefully we'll be able to top it later tonight."

The Pioneers play Washington & Jefferson (32-11) at 7:30 this evening.

Gasser's performance is one of the more memorable in recent Pioneer history. The sophomore kept Wooster's hitters off balance for nearly eight innings as he allowed just three hits and struck out seven. The Scots (34-9) entered the tournament with a team batting average of .352.

"I knew they were a good offensive team so my goal was to keep them off balance," said Gasser, who also walked just one. "I would much rather face a team I haven't faced before, but I pitched against them before and I knew what I had to do. It's a big confidence boost when you have a defense behind you that can make the plays."

Marietta second baseman Kirby Becker (South Euclid/St. Ignatius) made the first big defensive play of the game when he made a running, over-the-shoulder catch of Michael Wellstead's pop-up in the third inning. John Snyder (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) also came up big when he ran down Luke Sutton's long drive to center in the sixth that thwarted a potential Wooster rally.

Snyder also produced at the plate for the Pioneers by going 3-for-4 with two runs.

"Brian throwing zeroes up there helped. (Wooster pitcher Justin McDowell) was spot on the first three innings. His slider was knee high just off the plate," Snyder said. "But we knew he was going to hang a few occasionally. I think it was a little of our approach and he was his sharpest early going."

McDowell (8-3) and Gasser were matching each other through the first four innings when Marietta finally got on the scoreboard. In the fifth, Marietta's Casey Levens (Dayton/Centerville) singled and advanced to third on a wild pick off attempt. Becker's single to center scored Levens, and the he scored on Tim Saunders' (Alliance/Alliance) single.

The Pioneers added another run in the sixth when Snyder singled, reached second on another botched pick-off attempt and scored on Braden Park's (Oxford/Talawanda) single—all with two outs.

In the eighth, Marietta pretty much closed the door with three runs off reliever Tyler Fugate. Britt Meador (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) kicked off the rally with a lead off homer to left.

"We thought it was going to be a tight game. We didn't think there'd be a lot of runs scored. … Then they got some timely hits and that's to their credit," said Wooster coach Tim Pettorini. "(Wooster-Marietta) is a pretty fun game to play most of the time. It's a great rivalry. One of the problems we have is … when you play some of the league games that we have to play you are not being challenged as much, so the hitters get a false sense of security."

When Gasser began to tire in the eighth, Marietta closer Kyle Lindquist (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) entered and allowed just one hit and struck out two over the final 1 2/3 innings.

For Wooster, it was the end of nine seniors' careers, which included a second-place finish in last year's NCAA Championship in Grand Chute, Wis.

"Just getting here is an awesome feeling, but with the team we have and what we strive for it's a bit of a disappointment," said senior Matt Johnson.