ALLIANCE, Ohio — Marietta College swept an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader at the University of Mount Union Wednesday (April 11) afternoon. The Etta Express knocked off the defending OAC champs by the scores of 7-4 and 22-16 extending its win streak to seven games.
The Pioneers, ranked No. 12 nationally by the American Baseball Coaches Association and No. 14 by D3baseball.com, improve to 18-4 overall and 7-1 in the OAC. Mount Union falls to 13-9 on the season and 4-4 in the OAC.
Senior
David Stover (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) (7-0) made his second start of the season and dominated the Mount Union hitters for 8.0 innings. Stover allowed one run on just four base hits to get the win. He struck out 11 Purple Raiders and did not issue a walk.
Scott Oberhelman (Washington Twp., N.J./Old Tappan) threw 1.0 inning and gave up three runs on three hits with one strikeout.
Mount Union got on the board in the first inning when Christian Stanziano tripled and scored on a ground out by Billy Goodall.
Purple Raider starter Nick Satovich (0-2) held the Pioneers scoreless until the fifth inning when the Express plated five runs. Satovich worked 4.2 innings and allowed five runs on 10 hits in 4.2 innings. He walked two and struck out five in the losing effort.
Marietta loaded the bases with no outs to start the fifth.
Geoff Snyder (Norton, Ohio/Norton),
Chris Petrucci (Farmington, W.Va./Notre Dame) and
Shane Fetsko (South Park, Pa./South Park) each singled. Pioneer cleanup hitter
Mike Hale (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) followed with a grand slam to straight away center field to put Marietta on top for good. MC added another run in the inning for a 5-1 lead.
The Pioneers added runs in the sixth and seventh and held a 7-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. Mount rallied for three runs in its last at bat sparked by a two-run home run from Jimmy Scott.
Brady Cottom (Matthews, N.C./Butler) finished 3-for-5, while
Michael Barnabei (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) went 2-for-4 to lead the Pioneer offense.
Marietta's 12 hits in the first game was just a warm up for the nightcap. The Etta Express exploded for 22 runs on 24 base hits as all nine offensive starters had at least one hit and four different Pioneers finished with four hits in the game.
The 24 hits were the most for Marietta since the Pioneers recorded 26 hits in a 19-2 win at Mount Union in 2014.
Hale hit for the cycle with an RBI double in the third, a two-run triple in the fifth, a two-run home run in the eighth and a single in the ninth. He finished the game 4-for-7 with three runs scored and five RBI.
Snyder, Fetsko and Cottom all had four hits in the game. Snyder had a double, three runs scored and two RBI, while Fetsko recorded a double, two runs scored and four RBI. Cottom notched two doubles and scored four times. Barnabei was 3-for-6 with a double, a triple and five RBI.
The Pioneers used six pitchers in the game.
Ian Luttrell (River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) (2-1) got the win in relief. He threw 1.0 inning and was charged with four runs on three hits.
Dalton Wiggins (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) started and pitched 1.1 innings allowing four runs on four hits.
Easton Berry (Ripley, W.Va./Ripley),
Kordell Antill (Woodsfield, Ohio/Monroe Central),
Quinn Hecker (Mason, Ohio/Mason) and Barnabei also toed the rubber for Marietta.
Darren Krolikowski started for Mount Union and gave up eight runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings of work. Beau Taylor (3-2) took the loss giving up four runs on four hits in 1.2 innings.
Marietta hosts the College of Wooster, ranked No. 3 nationally, Thursday (April 12) evening for a single, nine-inning game at Don Schaly Stadium. First pitch is set for 7 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.
