MARIETTA, Ohio – The No. 6 ranked Etta Express sits alone atop the Ohio Athletic Conference baseball standings after sweeping a doubleheader from Otterbein University Wednesday (April 17) evening at Don Schaly Stadium.
Marietta (20-7 overall, 10-2 OAC) defeated the Cardinals (19-11, 6-6 OAC) 5-1 in the opener and then took the nightcap by the score of 10-1.
The Pioneers jumped on top in the bottom of the first of game one when senior left fielder
Jordan Grilliot (Brookville/Northmont) led off with a walk and came around to score on an RBI-single from catcher
Alex Toth (Painesville/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin).
Three runs in the third inning made it 4-0 in favor of the Pioneers.
Mitch Geers (West Chester/Lakota East) drove in
Aaron Hopper (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg) with a single through the right side of the infield. Third baseman
Bryan Gregorich (Chardon/Chardon) knocked in two more with a single to center.
Gregorich added an RBI-double in the fifth to push the Marietta lead to 5-0.
Jordan Ashbrook led off the top of the sixth for Otterbein and delivered a pinch-hit solo home run.
Senior
Evan Brockmeier (4-1) cruised to his fourth victory of the season allowing only two base hits in the complete-game performance. Brockmeier struck out four and did not walk a batter in 7.0 innings of work.
Senior Wes Meadows (5-1) lost for the first time this spring. Meadows tossed 5.0 innings and gave up five runs on eight hits. He walked four and struck out six. Classmate David Cydrus threw an inning of relief.
Gregorich was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI, while Geers went 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
The Etta Express built a 9-0 lead in the second game en route to the sweep. Senior
Jordan Grilliot (Brookville/Northmont) set the tone right off the bat with a lead off home run in the bottom of the first.
Marietta plated two more runs in the first for a 3-0 lead. Geers drove in one with a single to right and Gregorich picked up an RBI with a sac fly.
Gregorich drove in two more runs in the fifth inning with a double down the right field line.
Once again, Otterbein's lone run of the game came via the home run. Meadows hit a solo shot in the top of the seventh.
Freshman
Mike Finlan (State College, Pa./State College) (2-0) continued to impress in his rookie season. Finlan threw 8.0 innings and gave up one run on just four hits. He had two strikeouts and no walks. Sophomore
Mike Fulton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) pitched a perfect ninth inning.
Grilliot, Brockmeier and Geers each had two hits in the game for the Pioneers. Grilliot had a home run and three RBI, while Geers had a double. Gregorich finished with three RBI and a double.
Marietta travels to University Heights on Saturday (April 20) for a key OAC doubleheader at John Carroll University. The Blue Streaks are currently in third place in the OAC with an 8-4 record. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.
Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
