PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The #8 Marietta College baseball team earned a hard fought doubleheader sweep of Carthage College Saturday (March 12) at the Snowbird Classic. The Etta Express took game one 3-2 and then out lasted the Redmen in 14 innings to win the nightcap 5-4. [Game 1 Box Score] [Game 2 Box Score]

Junior Brian Gasser (New Philadelphia/Indian Valley) improved to 3-0 after allowing two runs on five hits in the opener. He walked three and fanned three in five innings.

All of the game one scoring came in the fifth. Freshman Mike Natale (Portersville, Pa./Laurel) reached base on a hit by pitch to open the frame. Sophomore Alex Toth (Painesville/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) moved him to third with a double. Sophomore Evan Brockmeier (Marietta/Marietta) then drove in Natale with a single to left. Senior Britt Meador (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) followed with another single to left to plate Toth, and senior John Snyder (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) capped the scoring with a single to center, which drove in Brockmeier.

Carthage answered with a two-run single by Billy Herrin, but Gasser got out of the fifth inning jam and preserved the one-run advantage.

Junior Logan Lewis (Nashport/Tri-Valley) relieved Gasser in the sixth and threw three scoreless frame, while junior Kyle Lindquist (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) picked up his fourth save with a perfect ninth. Lewis collected two strikeouts with a walk, while Lindquist fanned one.

Brockmeier finished with two of Marietta's nine hits in the win.

Carthage jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the top of the third. Marietta got on the board with a RBI from Meador in the bottom of the frame and then added another on a Brockmeier sacrifice fly in the fourth.

The Redmen got a run back in the fifth while the Pioneers added another on a #John SnyderS double later that inning. Marietta then tied the game at 4-4 on a Brockemeier groundout in the bottom of the eighth.

The two teams went quiet for the next five innings. The Pioneers blocked a Redmen scoring opportunity in the top of the 14th with an inning-ending double play.

Marietta used the momentum to win the game in the bottom of the 14th. Junior Kirby Becker (South Euclid/St. Ignatius) reached on an error to lead off the frame. Snyder was then hit by a pitch, before senior Casey Levens (Dayton/Centerville) sacrificed the duo ahead one base with a bunt. That set the stage for sophomore Aaron Hopper (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg), who drove in the winning run when he reached on a fielder's choice ground ball to third base.

Snyder, Brockmeier and sophomore Jordan Grilliot (Brookville/Northmont) all had two hits to lead Marietta's 10-hit attack. Carthage had 14 hits but was hurt by five errors.

Brockmeier, the fourth Pioneer pitcher, earned the victory after throwing the final three innings. He improved to 1-0 by scattering four hits and striking out three.

Junior Austin Blaski (Pandora/Gilboa) worked the first six innings and left after giving up four runs on nine hits and striking out nine. Sophomore Luke Langdon (Troy/Troy) followed with two scoreless frames, while sophomore Michael Mulvey contributed three more scoreless innings before handing the ball to Brockmeier.