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Box Score 2 ADA, Ohio – The Marietta College baseball team opened Ohio Athletic Conference play in grand fashion Saturday (March 30) afternoon with a dominating sweep of Ohio Northern University. The Pioneers won the first game 13-4 and then posted a 16-0 shutout in game two.
Marietta, ranked fifth nationally, improves to 12-4 on the season and 2-0 in the OAC. Ohio Northern falls to 7-8 overall and 0-2 in league play.
The Pioneers sent 13 hitters to the plate in the top of the first inning of game one taking an 8-0 lead. Marietta had six hits in the inning including a two-run double from senior
Bryan Gregorich (Chardon/Chardon).
Gregorich would finish the first game with three hits in four at bats. He collected a pair of doubles and drove in four runs.
The Polar Bears used three different pitchers in the opening frame. Senior Austin Price started and lasted 0.3 of an inning. He was charged with six runs on four hits.
Senior Bryce Sedio relieved Price and only managed to get one out giving up two runs on two hits.
Freshman Ben Eckert finally got ONU out of the first inning and went on to throw 3.1 innings. Eckert allowed three runs on three hits. Junior Chad Smith pitched the final 3.0 innings giving up two runs on four hits.
Ohio Northern didn't go away quietly as the Polar Bears plated two runs in the first and another in the second inning trimming the Pioneer lead to five, 8-3.
Freshman
Jason Byers (East Granby, Conn./East Granby) (1-1) notched his first career victory pitching 6.0 strong innings. Byers gave up four runs, three earned, on eight hits. He walked three and struck out three. Classmate
Mike Finlan (State College, Pa./State College) tossed a perfect seventh inning.
Gregorich's second double of the game knocked in two runs in the Pioneers' three-run fourth inning. Marietta added a couple of insurance runs in the seventh.
Marietta roughed up the Polar Bears for 13 base hits. In addition to Gregorich, senior catcher
Alex Toth (Painesville/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Senior
Evan Brockmeier (Marietta/Marietta) and sophomore
Christian Demko (Xenia/Bellbrook) had two hits apiece.
Once the Etta Express was rolling there was no stopping it. The Pioneers carried the momentum into game two and collected 17 more hits in a 16-0 rout of the Polar Bears.
Brockmeier, Gregorich and Toth had three hits in the nightcap. Brockmeier put an exclamation point on the day with a two-run home run in the ninth. It was Brockmeier's first career home run in the pinstripes and MC's first of the season.
Brockmeier finished 3-for-6 with three runs scored and another three driven in. Toth and Gregorich both went 3-for-4. Toth had a double and three RBI, while Gregorich had two runs batted in.
Senior
Mike Mulvey (Glenshaw, Pa./North Catholic) (4-0) is quickly establishing himself as one of the top pitchers in the OAC. Mulvey needed just 59 pitches in 6.0 innings of work to get the win. He allowed one hit and had five strikeouts without walking a batter.
Sophomores
Anthony Knittel (Stout/Portsmouth West),
Mike Fulton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) and
Stephen Bascom (Cincinnati/Indian Hill) each three an inning of shutout relief.
Junior Tyler Deitering (0-2) took the loss after allowing two runs on just one base hit in 3.0 innings of work. The Polar Bears used six different pitchers in the game.
Marietta travels to Alliance on Tuesday (April 2) for a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader at the University of Mount Union. Fans can catch the action live at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
