WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Walk off results seem to be the norm during the Marietta College baseball team's Florida trip as for the third time in as many games the game ended in a walk off fashion. This time it was the Etta Express coming out on top 5-4 over 22nd ranked Wartburg College. Wartburg struck early taking a 2-0 lead in the top of first as it benefited from some early season shaky play. The Pioneers committed one error and starter
Tyler Nieberding (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) walked two to help give the Knights the early lead.
The second inning saw the Knights put the first two batters on including a scary infield single by 6' 5" Mike Brown that hit Nieberding on the bounce and caromed into foul territory on the third base side. Head Coach
Brian Brewer removed Nieberding for precautionary measures and inserted
Jacob Baker (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) into the game. Clay Henning greeted Baker with an infield single to load the bases. Baker then settled in with a strike out of Blake Mahoney and then induced Tyler Willis to hit into a double play to keep the deficit at two.
The game remained a 2-0 lead for Wartburg till the fourth inning when the Knight's Jacob Thumann led off the inning with a shot over the left field fence for a solo home run. Baker quickly restored order and retired the side leaving the Pioneers trailing 3-0.
Marietta finally broke thru against Wartburg starting pitcher lefthander Tanner Eckhart when, after retiring the first two hitters of the inning,
Mike Hale (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) broke up what was a no hitter with an infield hit off of Eckhart's foot. Eckhart stayed in the game after being checked out by the medical staff, but it clearly rattled him. Hale easily stole second and was driven home by a single to center from
Michael Barnabei (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central). Barnabei was stranded at second but the lead was cut to 3-1.
Baker continued to keep the Knights off the scoreboard with four excellent innings of relief pitching and Marietta further cut into the lead with help from the Knights as
Joe Gardner (Armada, Mich./Romeo) reached on an error and
Chris Petrucci (Farmington, W.Va./Notre Dame) followed the error with a walk. Gardner was brought home by a single to left field off the bat of
Tyler Packanik (Plant City, Fla./Newsome). Eckhart then retired the side to end the threat and leave the score at 3-2.
The quality relief pitching continued when
Kordell Antill (Woodsfield, Ohio/Monroe Central) replaced Baker and retired Wartburg in the top of the sixth with no additional damage.
The Etta Express tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when Hale picked up his second hit of the game with a double to right center. Hale advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Barnabei and came home on a single from
Doug Bennett (New Castle, Pa./Shenango). Eckhart escaped the inning when he got
Tyler Ruhl (Fredericktown, Ohio/Fredericktown) to ground into a double play.
Milton Croes lead off Wartburg's half of the seventh with a single to left and he advanced to second on an error on the play. He then moved to third on a ground out to second. Antill then got a key out when he struck out Kemp swinging. Brewer decided to play the percentages and intentionally walk the next batter but that plan went awry when Antill put one past catcher Ruhl. Croes tried to score on the play but Ruhl was quick to recover the ball and threw to Antill who easily tagged Croes out to end the inning. Not exactly how the Etta Express skipper drew it up, but it worked.
Wartburg regained the lead in the top of the eighth on a single and then on the sacrifice bunt that followed Antill threw the ball into right field allowing the run to score. No additional runs ensued but once again the Pioneers were left to battle from behind.
Wartburg brought in pitcher Shane Chafa to start the bottom half of the eighth and Brewer countered with pinch hitter
Austin Harvey (Richmond, Mich./Richmond). Harvey reached on an error when Knight first baseman Croes threw the ball away which allowed Harvey to make it to second. Brewer replaced Harvey with a speedy pinch runner in
Brandon Papp (Uniontown, Ohio/Green). That moved paid off when, after being sacrificed to third by Hale, Papp scored on Barnebi's grounder to third. Papp waited till Knight third baseman Zach Hovick threw to first and then he broke for home beating Croes' throw to the plate.
Tied at four apiece heading into the ninth Brewer brought pitcher
Scott Oberhelman (Washington Twp., N.J./Old Tappan) in to pitch the ninth. Oberhelman worked around a one out walk to set up the dramatic finish in the bottom of the ninth.
Working against the third Knight pitcher in Andy Sorenson the Etta Express crafted the winning run in the last of the ninth without the benefit of a hit. Gardner led off the inning and reached on a throwing error by the Knight shortstop. The error, which allowed Gardner to reach second, set up the unusual finish.
Brewer once again went with pace as he pinch ran for Gardner with
Chandler Palyas (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan). Palyas quickly was bunted over to third with a textbook sacrifice bunt by Petrucci. Sorenson intentionally walked McCoy to set up a potential double play, but that idea went by the wayside when, on the next batter, Sorenson uncorked a pitch to Packanik that got by catcher Mike Brown and Palyas took a chance and raced home sliding underneath the tag by Sorenson to score the walk off winning run on a passed ball.
Oberhelman picked up his first win of the year against no losses and Sorenson was saddled with the hard luck loss, his first. The win raises the 19th ranked Pioneers record to 5-2 on the year and the loss, which completes Wartburg's Florida swing, takes its record to 5-3. Marietta is back in action tomorrow in Auburndale Florida taking on Moravian College. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
Fans can follow the Etta Express year around at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
