MARIETTA, Ohio — Freshman second baseman Greg Peffley (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) had nine hits on the day as Marietta College swept an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader from Muskingum University Saturday (April 2) afternoon at Don Schaly Stadium. The Etta Express rolled to an 18-7 win in game one and completed the sweep with a 9-2 victory in the second game.

Marietta improves to 13-7 on the season and 4-0 in the OAC. Muskingum falls to 12-8 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

Leading 2-1 heading into the bottom of the second inning of the first game, Marietta exploded for nine runs. Aided by five Muskie errors in the frame, the Pioneers sent 13 hitters to the plate.

MC added another run in the fourth pushing the lead to 12-2. Muskingum rallied for five in the top of the sixth inning as Marietta's defense returned the favor. A dropped fly ball resulted in the five unearned runs.

Any chance of a comeback for the Muskies was erased in the seventh inning. Joey Begany (Sheffield Village, Ohio/Elyria Catholic) and Eric White (North Royalton, Ohio/North Royalton) each drove in a run, but the big blow was a two-run home run off the bat of pinch hitter Austin Harvey (Richmond, Mich./Richmond). Harvey greeted relief pitcher Jarin McIntosh by lining his first pitch of the game over the right field wall.

Tim McCoy (Willoughby, Ohio/St. Ignatius) made it 18-7 with a two-run shot to the opposite field in the bottom of the eighth. Connor Golden (South Charleston, W.Va./Charleston Catholic) reached on a one-out single and then McCoy followed with his second home run of the season over the wall in left-center field.

Peffley finished 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI. McCoy and Tyler Packanik (Plant City, Fla./Newsome) each had three hits in the game. McCoy smacked a double, a home run and drove in three runs. Chris Petrucci (Farmington, W.Va./Notre Dame) collected a pair of doubles, while Mike Hale (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) and Michael Barnabei (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) each had two hits.

Christian Herstine (Beaver, Pa./Beaver Area) (2-2) started on the mound and threw six innings to get the win. He allowed seven runs, only two earned, on nine hits and struck out five. David Stover (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) tossed two shutout innings, while Mitch McNabb (Grove City, Ohio/Bishop Ready) pitched the ninth inning.

Darien Smith (1-1) took the loss for Muskingum. Smith started and worked just 1.2 innings allowing 11 runs, three earned, on 11 hits. Patrick McGinty pitched 4.2 innings and was charged with four runs on seven hits, while McIntoch threw the final 1.2 innings and gave up three runs on four hits.

Peffley was a perfect 5-for-5 in game two and McCoy crushed his second home run of the day as Marietta used a six-run fourth inning to take control of the nitecap. The game was called in the bottom of the eighth inning due to rain.

Muskingum scored first when Ben Van Wey's single through the right side of the infield scored Seth Casto, who reached on a double.

Two unearned runs in the bottom of the second gave Marietta the lead. Barnabei and Brandon Papp (Uniontown, Ohio/Green) each had RBI doubles in the inning. Casto tied the game at 2-2 when he led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to left field off of Pioneer starter Tommy Crowl (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day).

But the joy was short lived for the Muskies as the Express plated six in the bottom of the inning. The big blow was McCoy's three-run blast. MC added another unearned run in the fifth for a 9-2 lead.

Crowl worked four innings and gave up two runs on seven hits before turning the game over to Kordell Antill (Woodsfield, Ohio/Monroe Central). Antill (2-0) picked up the win with four innings of three-hit shutout relief.

Evan Hinds (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season. Hinds tossed 3.1 innings and allowed eight runs, six earned, on nine hits. Brandon Bush worked the final 3.2 innings and allowed one unearned run on five hits.

Papp tied the OAC and Marietta College single game record with three doubles in the game.

The Pioneers travel to Granville for a single nine-inning game at Denison University on Saturday (April 3). First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.

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.