DELAWARE, Ohio — First baseman Devin Van Winkle was a one man wrecking crew as Ohio Wesleyan University posted a 12-7 win over Marietta College Thursday (April 23) in nonconference baseball action. The Battling Bishops improve to 21-8 on the season, while the Etta Express slips to 19-13 overall.
Van Winkle went 5-for-5 at the plate with three home runs, a double and eight runs batted in. He set school records with the eight RBI and 15 total bases. He smacked two-run homers in the second and fourth innings, a two-run double in the fifth and a solo shot in the sixth.
While Van Winkle was leading the OWU offense, freshman Trevor Ray (1-1) was handling things on the mound. The rookie lefthander kept the Pioneer hitters off balance scattering five hits and giving up one run in 5.0 innings of work for his first career win. He walked two and struck out four.
Marietta took a short-lived lead in the second inning when Ray walked
Christian Demko (Xenia/Bellbrook) with the bases loaded.
Tyler Packanik (Plant City, Fla./Newsome), who reached on a base hit bunt earlier in the inning, scored on the free pass.
Chris Winpigler (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora) cut into the Bishop lead with a three-run shot in the seventh inning. Winpigler crushed one over the wall in center field scoring
Tim McCoy (Willoughby/St. Ignatius) and
Chris Petrucci (Farmington, W.Va./Notre Dame).
The Pioneers added three more in the ninth. Packanik had an RBI double and
Ryan Hanahan (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) delivered a two-run double in the inning.
Freshman
Austin Eaton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) (3-2) started and took the loss for the Pioneers. Eaton worked 2.0 innings and was charged with two runs on two base hits. He walked two and struck out one. Marietta used a total of five pitchers in the game.
Winpigler and Packanik both finished 3-for-5 for the Pioneers. Winpigler had a double, home run and three RBI, while Packanik collected a pair of doubles. Hanahan notched two hits including a double.
Marietta is right back in action Friday (April 24) when the University of Pittsburg h at Greensburg visits Don Schaly Stadium for a single nine-inning game at 3:30 p.m. The Pioneers were scheduled to play the Bobcats on Sunday, but moved the game up.
Fans can follow the Etta Express all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
