MARIETTA, Ohio - If you love watching good college baseball then Don Schaly Stadium is the place to be starting Wednesday (May 14).

For the fourth time in five years, Marietta College will host the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional. Eight teams, including the top-seeded Pioneers (29-14), will try to fight their way through the double-elimination tournament and earn a spot in the championship series at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wis., from May 23-27.

This is Marietta's 39th appearance in an NCAA regional and the Pioneers have won more national championships than any other program with six, including back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.

Marietta's 2014 season hasn't been quite as smooth as those years. The Etta Express went 1-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament this past weekend, losing to John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace.

Now Coach Brian Brewer's team is trying to swing the momentum this week as two losses mean the end of the season.

The Pioneers open with eighth-seeded Penn State-Berks (19-19), who is making its second regional appearance after defeating SUNY Institute of Technology in the North Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 14.

Marietta is 1-3 in its last four games and sports a 10-8 record at Don Schaly Stadium, which is playing host to a regional for the 15th time. The Pioneer bats went cold in the OAC Tournament and are looking to break out of the mini-slump.

Senior outfielder Josh Ungerbuehler (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon), a second team all-conference selection, leads the team with a .360 average and nine stolen bases. Junior third baseman Ryan Hanahan (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland), an honorable mention choice, has watched his average climb to .307 with three home runs and six stolen bases.

Junior catcher Chris Winpigler (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora), a second team All-OAC choice, is hitting .354 with three homers and 31 RBI. Junior first baseman Mitch Geers (West Chester/Lakota East), also a second team all-conference pick, leads the team with five home runs.

Marietta's top two pitchers — sophomore Christian Herstine (Beaver, Pa./Beaver Area) and sophomore Jason Byers (East Granby, Conn./East Granby) — were also two of the best in the OAC. Both were first team All-OAC and Herstine was named the Kent Tekulve Pitcher of the Year.

The Nittany Lions have some solid bats in the lineup, including sophomore Tom Grablewski. The second baseman is hitting a team-high .367 with 30 RBI. Junior first baseman Kyle Hartman is hitting a solid .348 with 22 RBI, while sophomore catcher Nick Zipay is hitting .345 with six doubles and 12 stolen bases from the leadoff spot in the order.

Depending on weather, the schedule includes four games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Action begins with No. 4 Widener (31-11) facing No. 5 LaRoche at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday.

The Pride won the Commonwealth Conference and are making their seventh appearance in the NCAA tournament. Coach Mike LaRosa's squad is riding an eight-game winning streak, including a 3-0 mark in the conference tournament. Widener faced a few OAC teams during its spring trip to Florida, including a 6-5 victory over OAC Tournament champ John Carroll.

Senior first baseman Michael Riverso enters the regional on a seven-game hitting streak and fresh off being named the Commonwealth Conference Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He batted .455 (5-for-11) during the tournament with a .538 on-base percentage. He's hitting a team-best .437 on the year with 42 RBI.

Freshman infielder Michael Elfreth has a team-high 64 hits for a .372 average, while freshman outfielder Bob Barnett is hitting .336 with 18 RBI.

Widener's pitching staff may be one of the hottest in the regional. During the conference tournament, the Pride had a team ERA of 2.00 with 13 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .240 average.

Senior Colin Weiss is the staff ace with a 7-0 record and a 1.77 ERA. He was named the Commonwealth Pitcher of the Year and will likely get the start on Wednesday. Widener's other starters are sophomore Joe Santone (6-3, 2.52 ERA), junior Robert Barth (6-1, 2.81), senior Glenn Stanners (5-4, 2.47) and sophomore Shawn Barton (2-0, 1.56).

Widener's opponent LaRoche enters the regional on the heels of winning the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament. Coach Chase Rowe's team has played a tough schedule, including games against Marietta, Heidelberg and Baldwin Wallace — all regional qualifiers.

Junior Franzee Barlamas came up big in the title game against Pitt-Greensburg, going 4-for-4 with a home run and five RBI in the 11-7 victory. Barlamas is hitting .403 with 39 RBI and eight stolen bases entering the regional.

Junior Colin Feikles leads the team with a .449 batting average to go with four home runs and 39 RBI, while sophomore Colin Williamson is hitting .373 with four homers and 28 RBI. Junior Brian Tougher is also a tough out as he is hitting .373 with four homers and 43 RBI. As a team, LaRoche is hitting .352.

The Redhawks pitching has been solid all season as well, including a team ERA of 2.92. Leading the way on the mound has been junior Tyler Ferguson (10-4). He has started 13 games and has a 2.87 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 75.1 innings of work.

Senior Cole Lentz is 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA and has 38 strikeouts, while junior Walt Hadjuk is 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA.

Squaring off in the third game on Wednesday (scheduled for 4:30 p.m.) is third-seeded Salisbury (33-7) and sixth-seeded John Carroll (24-15). It will be the first meeting between the two squads, which both won their respective conference tournaments to earn automatic bids into the regional.

The Sea Gulls, who are ranked seventh in the nation, won the program's 12th Capital Athletic Conference championship in April, while the Blue Streaks claimed their first OAC Tournament championship this past weekend in Marietta.

Salisbury has not lost a game since a 4-3 decision against Christopher Newport on April 5. Since that time Coach Doug Fleetwood's team has won 16 consecutive games, including a 4-3 win over Montclair State last Wednesday.

Top-notch pitching is a big key to the Sea Gulls' success and the top two hurlers are juniors Brett Collacchi (10-1) and Dan Fein (7-1). Collacchi has an impressive 2.35 ERA with 56 strikeouts over 76.2 innings of work, while Fein has a 3.98 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 81.1 innings. Junior Kyle Hamby is the main arm out of the bullpen as he has seven saves and 1.17 ERA.

Junior outfielder Kyle Hayman is hitting a blistering .417 with 30 RBI, while senior infielder Quinn Griffith has a .386 average and 29 RBI. Junior infielder Bobby Sanzone is the Sea Gulls main power threat — three home runs, 37 RBI and a .375 average.

Coach Marc Thibeault's team claimed their first conference championship and will now try to make an historic run in the regional.

Senior Chet Lauer, a first team All-OAC choice, has been swinging a big bat all season as he led John Carroll with a .413 average and five home runs. Senior Jimmy Spagna, a first team All-OAC selection, is also a power threat for the Blue Streaks as he has four homers and 47 RBI to go with a .379 average. Sophomore Tyler Gentile (.389) and junior Bobby Sabatino (.344) are also dangerous hitters.

Pitching has not necessarily been a strength of John Carroll's but the unit held its own in the tough OAC Tournament, which featured four teams that advanced to regionals.

Sophomore Brandon Maddern is 6-2 with a 3.17 ERA, while sophomore Aaron Lapaglia is 8-3 with a 3.81 ERA. Senior Kevin Rosinski is the top arm out of the bullpen with four saves and a 3.86 ERA.

The final game of the first day will pit second-seed Case Western Reserve (30-10) against seventh-seed Thomas More (23-17). This season, the Spartans claimed a share of a second consecutive University Athletic Association Championship and became just the second team in program history to reach 30 wins.

The pitching staff has been led by senior left-hander John Fortunato, who is 7-2 with a 2.04 ERA and 39 strikeouts in a team-high 75 innings pitched. The team's ace has two complete games this season as well as a save with his last two appearances coming in relief.

The bullpen has been strong all season, and the Spartans are 22-0 in games where they led after six innings. Senior lefty Ray Kelly (6-1), who has appeared in a team-high 16 games as a reliever, is second on the squad with a 2.63 ERA to go along with 31 strikeouts in 27.1 innings.

Individually, junior third baseman Andrew Gronski is hitting .456 with six homers and 41 RBI and he ranks second in Division III in hits (77) and ninth in batting average. Senior shortstop Andrew Frey is hitting .374 with five homers with 54 RBI. Junior second baseman Kerrigan Cain is hitting .383 with 37 RBI and seven stolen bases.

Thomas More earned an automatic bid by going 3-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament this past weekend. The Saints come into the tournament with a team ERA of 5.01 and the top pitcher is sophomore Logan Miller, who is 7-2 with a 3.27 ERA. Thomas More will also count on senior Andy Roenker (4-1) and junior Tim Baldrick (3-1).

Travis Miller has been a tough out all season and he is currently hitting .383 with six homers and 40 RBI in 36 games. Other strong Saints' hitters are senior Jason Handley (.351), junior Craig Hyson (.343) and freshman Casey Metzger (.312).

Games will continue on Thursday starting at 9:30 a.m. and continue throughout the day. Single game tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for senior citizens/students, while single day passes are $12 and all-tournament passes are $35.

Other regional sites:

Hosted by Piedmont (Demorest, Ga.)
1. Shenandoah
2. Emory
3. Birmingham-Southern
4. Bridgewater (Va.)
5. Rhodes
6. Covenant

Hosted by Linfield (McMinnville, Ore.)
1. Linfield
2. Cal Lutheran
3. Trinity (Texas)
4. UW-Stevens Point
5. Illinois Wesleyan
6. LeTourneau

Hosted by Augustana (Moline, Ill.)
1. Webster
2. St. Thomas
3. Buena Vista
4. St. Scholastica
5. Rose-Hulman
6. DePauw

Hosted by UW-Whitewater (Whitewater, Wis.)
1. UW-Whitewater
2. Heidelberg
3. Concordia-Chicago
4. UW-La Crosse
5. Adrian
6. St. Norbert

Hosted by Misericordia (Moosic, Pa.)
1. Moravian
2. Rowan
3. Susquehanna
4. Baldwin Wallace
5. Misericordia
6. Keystone
7. Wesleyan (Conn.)
8. Haverford

Hosted by the ECAC (Harwich, Mass.)
1. Eastern Connecticut
2. Southern Maine
3. Tufts
4. Endicott
5. MIT
6. St. Joseph's (Maine)
7. Worcester State
8. Mitchell

Hosted by Ithaca (Newark, N.Y.)
1. Cortland State
2. Kean
3. Amherst
4. Rutgers-Camden
5. Farmingdale State
6. Stevens
7. Union
8. Castleton State