MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College baseball team split an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader with the University of Mount Union Tuesday (April 3) evening. The Pioneers' win in the second game was the 2,000th victory in the history of the program. Marietta is the first NCAA Division III baseball program to reach 2,000 wins. [Game One Box] [Game Two Box]

Mount Union won the first game of the day by the score of 6-5. The Etta Express bounced back to take the nitecap by an 8-1 margin. The Pioneers are now 15-4 overall and 3-1 in the OAC. The Purple Raiders move to 16-7 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Mount Union scored four runs in the third inning and added another in the fifth to take a 5-0 lead in the first game. Right fielder Connor Mathis drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double down the right field line in the four-run third.

The Pioneers battled back with three unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth cutting the deficit to 5-3.  Mount Union committed four errors in the inning. Freshman designated hitter #Mitch Geers (West Chester/Lakota East)# delivered a two-run single in the inning.

Mount Union got one run back in the top of the seventh. The Purple Raiders loaded the bases with no outs on three straight singles. Zach Carlino, the starting pitcher, drove in a run with a single to left.

Trailing 6-3 in the bottom of the seventh, freshman third baseman #Clint Roche (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford)# got hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Freshman #Christian Demko (Xenia/Bellbrook)# pinch ran for Roche. Following a strike out, senior second baseman #Kirby Becker (South Euclid/St. Ignatius)# walked. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position.

Senior shortstop #Tim Saunders (Alliance/Alliance)# hit a sacrifice fly to left scoring Demko. Junior centerfielder #Aaron Hopper (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg)# was hit by a pitch putting the tying run on base and bringing the Pioneers' leading hitter to the plate. Junior first baseman #Evan Brockmeier# delivered a single to right scoring Becker.

With the tying run 90 feet away, junior catcher #Alex Toth (Painesville/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin)# stepped to the plate. Toth's line drive to centerfield was grabbed by Mount's Jimmy Dobran for the final out.

Carlino (2-1) pitched six innings to get the win. He allowed three runs, all unearned, on just three hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Cory Douglass pitched 0.2 innings giving up two runs, both earned, with a walk, a strikeout and two hit batsmen. Tom Bekelsky got his first save of the season pitching the final out.

Senior #Mike Mahaffey (Worthington/Bishop Watterson)# (3-1) was tagged with the loss. Mahaffey went six innings and gave up six runs, all earned, on nine hits. He walked four and had five strikeouts. Junior #Luke Langdon (Troy/Troy)# threw one inning and allowed no runs on two hits.

In the second game Marietta scored three runs in the first and two more in the third en route to the historic 8-1 win.

Becker led the first off with a single to center and moved to second on a passed ball. Saunders quickly doubled to the left field fence scoring Becker. Saunders moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch and scored on an error. Geers picked up an RBI-single to drive in the third run of the innng.

Hopper, Brockmeier and Geers all singled to load the bases with no outs in the third inning. Toth made it four hits in a row and drove in Hopper. Freshman designated hitter #Chris Winpigler (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora)# scored Brockmeier with a sac fly.

The Purple Raiders got on the board with an unearned run in the sixth. Marietta answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning and added two more in the eighth for an 8-1 lead heading into the ninth inning.

Junior #Michael Mulvey# (2-0) got the win pitching six innings. He scattered six hits and allowed one unearned run. Mulvey had two strikeouts and didn't walk a batter. Seniors #Logan Lewis (Nashport/Tri-Valley)# and #Kyle Lindquist (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne)# threw the final three innings.

Mike Horning (2-1) took the loss for Mount Union. Horning went two innings and gave up five runs, four earned, on seven hits. Bekelsky threw four innings and allowed one run on two hits with a walk. Josh Pryor pitched the final two innings giving up two runs on five hits.

Saunders and Geers each collected three hits in the game for the Pioneers. Saunders had a pair of doubles and scored three times, while Geers had a double. Hopper, Brockmeier and Toth tallied two hits apiece.

Marietta travels to Capital University on Friday (April 6) for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.