MARIETTA, Ohio – Senior shortstop #Tim Saunders (Alliance/Alliance)# laced a single through the left side of the infield scoring junior catcher #Alex Toth (Painesville/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin)# with the winning run in the bottom of the tenth inning to extend Marietta College's winning streak to 11 games. The Pioneers defeated John Carroll University 3-2 in the first of two games Sunday (April 22) afternoon. [Game One Box] [Game Two Box]

The Blue Streaks won the second game 8-2 to salvage the split. No. 1 ranked Marietta is now 25-5 overall and 12-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. John Carroll moves to 16-14 on the season and 8-6 in league play.

Marietta jumped on top with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning in the first game. Saunders walked and stole second. He moved to third on a fielding error by the John Carroll third baseman and then scored when freshman left fielder #Mitch Geers (West Chester/Lakota East)# grounded into a double play.

A rare Pioneer fielding error led to a pair of unearned runs for John Carroll as the Blue Streaks took the lead in the fifth, 2-1.

Marietta starting pitcher senior #Austin Blaski (Pandora/Gilboa)# went 4.2 innings and was charged with the two unearned runs. He gave up six hits, walked three and struck out two. Senior #Kyle Lindquist (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne)# relieved Blaski in the fifth.

Lindquist threw 4.1 innings of shutout relief, his longest outing since May 2010. Lindquist retired the first 10 batters he faced and allowed two hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

Fellow senior #Logan Lewis (Nashport/Tri-Valley)# (4-0) picked up the win. Lewis pitched the tenth inning and allowed one hit.

The Pioneers tied the game, 2-2, with an unearned run in the sixth. Saunders hit a ground ball to short but the throw got away at first base allowing him to advance to second base. Junior center fielder #Aaron Hopper (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg)# drove a ball deep to left that was dropped by the Blue Streaks allowing Saunders to score.

Jimmy Spagna started on the mound for John Carroll and threw 5.1 innings. He gave up two unearned runs on just two hits with four walks and a strikeout. Tyler Ferretti (2-3) took the loss after pitching 4.1 innings. Ferretti allowed one run on one hit. He walked one and had a strikeout.

John Carroll left the bases loaded in the eighth and stranded two runners in the ninth.

Toth received a one-out walk in the tenth and moved to second on a wild pitch. A ground ball to the right side of the infield off the bat of junior right fielder #Jordan Grilliot (Brookville/Northmont)# allowed Toth to move up 90 feet.

Kevin Rosinski replaced Ferretti on the mound and hit senior second baseman #Kirby Becker (South Euclid/St. Ignatius)# with a pitch giving Marietta runners on the corners with two outs. Saunders followed with the game winning base hit.

Junior first baseman #Evan Brockmeier# went 2-for-4. Becker and Saunders each had a base hit.

The Blue Streaks scored early and often building an 8-0 lead in the second game. John Carroll scored a run in the second and then added two in the third and fourth innings. Three more runs in the sixth secured the victory for John Carroll.

Senior #Brian Gasser (New Philadelphia/Indian Valley)# (6-2) was chased after three innings of work. Gasser allowed five runs, all earned, on five base hits. He walked two and struck out three. Junior #Michael Mulvey# tossed 2.2 innings and was tagged with three earned runs on five hits. Mulvey walked two and struck out three.

Senior #Mike Mahaffey (Worthington/Bishop Watterson)# worked the final 1.1 innings. He allowed no runs on two hits. Mahaffey struck out one and didn't walk a batter.

Anthony Libertini (3-2) kept the Pioneers off the scoreboard in his five innings of work to get the win. He allowed four base hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Joe Bossard surrendered two earned runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts in two innings of work.

The Pioneers finally got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the seventh innng.  With one out, Marietta loaded the bases with three straight singles. Becker made it four hits in a row with an RBI-single that scored third baseman #Clint Roche (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford)# with Marietta's first run. Hopper drove in the other Pioneer run with a base hit.

Grilliot went 2-for-4 and junior designated hitter #Braden Park (Oxford/Talawanda)# was 2-for-3.

The Pioneers will look to avenge a loss from earlier this season when they visit the College of Wooster on Wednesday (April 25) for a 3:30 p.m. single game. Wooster defeated Marietta 6-0 in March at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla.