KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The student got one over on the teacher as Bluffton University, coached by former Pioneer Ris McDaniel, downed Marietta College 4-1 Tuesday (March 8) morning. The Pioneers bounced back and knocked off No. 16 ranked Kean University 4-0 in the second game.
Marietta jumped on top with a run in the top of the first inning against Bluffton. Freshman
Madison Gatley (West Jefferson, Ohio/West Jefferson) singled and was sacrificed to second by
Cierra Bloom (Dennison, Ohio/Claymont).
Brianna Finck (New Lexington, Ohio/Crooksville) followed with a double to left driving in Gatley.
Bluffton got all of the runs they would need with one swing of the bat. Josie McElroy hit a three-run shot over the centerfield fence for a 3-1 Beaver lead. Unfortunatelt for the Pioneers, a defensive miscue earlier in the inning made all three runs unearned.
Doubles from Jesse Madzia and McElroy resulted in an insurance run for the Beavers in the fifth inning.
Gatley and
Ariann Barile (Roaming Shores, Ohio/Jefferson) each had two hits for the Pioneers. Barile and Finck doubled, while Gatley had a triple.
Alison Kach (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) (3-3) started and took the loss. Kach threw 4.1 innings and was charged with all four runs on nine hits. She struck out two.
Emily Scupholm (1-2) got the complete game victory for Bluffton scattering five hits. She walked three and struck out eight.
Sophomore pitcher
Jocelyn White (Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton) (1-2) pitched a gem in game two blanking nationally ranked Kean for her first win of the season. White allowed six hits and struck out one.
Bloom got the Pioneers on the board in the third inning. She led off with a single, stole second and scored on a double by
Rachel Montgomery (Massillon, Ohio/Perry). Montgomery drove in Marietta's second run with a single in the fifth. Gatley singled and then moved to second on a wild pitch before Montgomery drove her in.
The Pioneers added two more in the sixth.
Rebekah Finn (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) knocked in
Stephanie Zentz (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) with a double. Finn would eventually score on a ground ball off the bat of
Kaitlin Presley (Palmyra, Va./Fluvanna Country).
Montgomery finished 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI. Barile went 2-for-3 with a double.
After a day off, Marietta is back in action Thursday (March 10) morning with an 11:15 a.m. game against Carroll University followed by a match up with Bridgewater College at 1:30 p.m.
Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
