WESTERVILLE, Ohio — May is the month that matters most for Marietta College baseball, and the #11 Etta Express got off to a good start Monday (May 3) afternoon with a 7-4 and 17-9 sweep of host Otterbein College. [Game 1 Box Score] [Game 2 Box Score]

The victories improved the Pioneers' record to 27-9 overall and more importantly 11-5 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Marietta remains in second place, two games back of first place Heidelberg University. The Cardinals fell to 17-18 overall and 8-8 in league play. They also saw their OAC Tournament hopes take a severe hit with the sweep, Marietta's first since posting 7-3 and 7-6 victories at Pioneer Park on May 4, 2004. 

In the opener, Marietta took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second. Freshman third baseman #Braden Park (Oxford/Talawanda)# led off the frame with a solo home run, his second of the season. Two batters later, junior first baseman #Casey Levens (Dayton/Centerville)# had a RBI double, while senior catcher #Dan Jones (Lima/Shawnee)# added a RBI single later in the frame.

Otterbein answered with four runs in the bottom of the second to take its first lead of the day. The Pioneers tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the fifth when senior designated hitter #Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton)# delivered a run-scoring single, which increased RBI total to 53 on the year.

The Etta Express regained the lead for good with a three-run sixth. Junior pinch hitter #Britt Meador (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne)# drove in the first run when he reached on a fielder's choice. The second run scored on a wild pitch and the third crossed on an error.

Junior center fielder #John Snyder (Altoona, Pa./Altoona)# extended his hitting streak to 29 games with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate. Jones, who moved his hitting streak to 17 games, as well as Levens and Saunders all added a pair of hits in the win. Kevin Castle finished with two of his team's five hits in the loss.

Sophomore #Austin Blaski (Pandora/Gilboa)# improved to 7-3 with six strong innings of work. The right-hander scattered four runs on five hits, overcame four walks and struck out three. Sophomore closer #Kyle Lindquist (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne)# earned his seventh save of the spring by recording the final three outs. He struck out the final two Cardinals to preserve the win.

John LaCorte suffered the loss in game one. The right-hander, who fell to 7-2, gave up seven runs (five earned) on nine hits, walked two and fanned eight in 5 1/3 innings.

Snyder wasted no time extending his hitting streak to 30 games as he drilled a three-run home run to left center field in the top of the first in game two. The home run was his fourth of the year. Otterbein came back with a run in the bottom of the frame to make the score 3-1 after the opening inning.

Park came through with a three-run double to left center with two outs in the top of the second to increase Marietta's advantage to 6-1.

In the fourth, a lead off double by Meador followed by a one-out, two-run home run to center field by Beatty stretched the advantage to 8-1. The blast was his team-leading 12th of the year. Sophomore second baseman #Kirby Becker (South Euclid/St. Ignatius)# added his first career home run, a two-run shot, in the same inning to give the Pioneers a 10-1 lead. Otterbein got a two-run home run of its own in the bottom of the fourth to pull back within seven runs, 10-3.

Saunders plated Jones with an infield single, and Park added a three-run shot to left center to give the Etta Express a 14-3 lead in the fifth. The Cardinal scored three runs (two earned) in the sixth to inch closer 14-6.

Levens came through with a two-out, RBI single to left to keep Marietta's offense rolling in the seventh. The scoring continued in the eighth when Synder picked up another RBi when he reached on a fielder's choice, giving the Pioneers a 16-6 lead. Otterbein came back with two more runs of its own in the bottom of the inning. to make the score 16-8.

Marietta closed its scoring when Becker crossed the plate on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth. The Cardinals capped their scoring with a lead off home run in the bottom of the frame.

The Etta Express produced 17 runs on 21 hits and overcame two errors in game two. Jones, who has now hit in 18 straight games, led the way with a 4-for-5 performance. Park, who collected a game-high six RBI, Meador and Becker all finished with three hits, while Snyder, Beatty and Levens added two hits in the win.

Otterbein plated nine runs on 13 hits and was hurt by four errors. John Quimby, A.J. Barnes, Brian Hiscox, Elliot Greenhill and Clayton Clever all finished with two hits in the game.

Sophomore #Mike Mahaffey (Worthington/Bishop Watterson)# improved to 3-1 after scattering six runs (four earned) on seven hits. He walked four and struck out four in five innings. Junior #Mark Williams (Fayetteville/Perry)# threw the next three frames, giving up two runs on four hits, while sophomore #Brian Gasser (New Philadelphia/Indian Valley)# got the final three outs after giving up one run on two hits in his only inning.

Zach McGrain suffered his first career loss. He was tagged for nine runs (eight earned) on 10 hits in just 3 1/3 innings.

Marietta closes out its OAC slate Friday (May 7) evening when Wilmington College visits Don Schaly Stadium for an Alumni Weekend doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. WMOA-AM 1490 will broadcast both games locally and online at http://wmoa1490.com. Live statistics will also be available at http://www.marietta.edu/athletics/livestats/xlive.htm.