ERIE, Pa. — Three different Pioneers had three hits in the game as Marietta College banged out 15 total in a 13-5 victory over Penn State-Behrend Sunday (May 8) afternoon. The Pioneers finish the regular season with a 25-15 record, while Behrend falls to 27-14 on the season.
Marietta will be the No. 2 seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament and will play No. 3 seed Baldwin Wallace University in the first round on Thursday (May 12). Otterbein University won the OAC regular season and will host and be the No. 1 seed. The Cardinals will play fourth seeded John Carroll University on Thursday. Game times will be announced on Monday.
In their regular season finale, the Etta Express scored early and often against Behrend. The Pioneers jumped out to a 7-0 lead and then pushed the margin to 12-1.
In addition to the 15 base hits, Marietta was also the beneficiary of seven Lion wild pitches and four errors.
Chris Petrucci (Farmington, W.Va./Notre Dame) led off the game with a single and was sacrificed to second by
Tim McCoy (Willoughby, Ohio/St. Ignatius). After a walk to
Mike Hale (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont), both runners moved up 90 feet on the first wild pitch of the game. Another wild pitch allowed Petrucci to score and Hale to move over to third.
Tyler Packanik (Plant City, Fla./Newsome) worked a free pass and then started a double steal that resulted in a throwing error that allowed Hale to score.
Petrucci got thing rolling again in the third inning with a leadoff double. The Pioneers would send go on to send all nine batters in the lineup to the plate and add five runs on the board. Hale ripped a two-run double and
Tanner Wood (Athens, Ohio/Athens) added a run-scoring single in the inning.
Starting pitcher
Tyler Nieberding (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) (1-3) notched his first win of the season with four strong innings. He allowed one run on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Sophomore
Ian Luttrell (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) saw his first extended action of the season after missing most of the year with mono. Luttrell tossed 3 and 1/3 innings and was charged with four runs on two hits. He walked a pair.
Kordell Antill (Woodsfield, Ohio/Monroe Central) and Davis Stover worked the final inning and 2/3.
Wood extended the Pioneer lead in the fourth inning with a two-run double to center field. He would finish the day 3-for-5 with four RBI. The Pioneers plated four in the inning for a 11-1 advantage.
Petrucci had three hits, including a double, while Packanik was 3-for-5 with two doubles.
The Pioneers added a run in the sixth and another in the ninth on a single by Wood.
Zachary Krivda (5-2) started for the Lions and took the loss. He allowed seven runs, five earned, on six hits in three innings of work. Krivda walked four and struck out one. Eric Mikulan and Brady Kress each threw three innings of relief. Mikulan gave up five runs on six hits, while Kress allowed one run on three hits.
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.
