MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College opened the 2022 season Tuesday (March 1) afternoon by splitting a doubleheader with Denison University, winning game one 6-3 and losing the second game 6-0. The Pioneers go to 1-1 on the young season while the Big Red go to 2-5.
"We had a great opportunity to open the season up with Denison today on our own field," Marietta head coach
Jenn Castle said. "I really liked how aggressive we were at the plate in game one, we just need to continue that energy through an entire doubleheader. We saw some good things out of the team today and saw some things to fine tune before we leave for the spring break trip to Florida."
The Pioneers made constant use of the long ball to secure game one.
Jess Brown (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville) hit a first pitch laser beam over the right center fence to give Marietta the early 1-0 lead. After the Big Red took the lead in the top half of the second,
Jillian Middleton (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) tied it in the 3rd with an RBI double.
A two-run blast from
Kylie Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier) in the 4th inning and a
Rachel Kazmirski (Colliers, W.Va./Brooke) two-run bomb in the 6th inning provided enough insurance for Middleton to get the complete game victory. Denison was able to load the bases in the seventh but could not plate a run, giving the Pioneers the victory.
Middleton (1-0) got her first ever win in a Marietta uniform. She pitched 6.0 innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits with four walks and two strikeouts.
Lexi Knipp (1-3) took the loss for Denison. She pitched 6.2 innings and allowed six runs on seven hits with five walks and two strikeouts. Sophia Parpala came into face one batter, and she struck her out.
In game Two, Denison jumped out to six-run lead. Maggie Ballletine and Clara Wolfe blasted solo shots in the first two innings. The Big Red then had a four-run 3rd inning, highlighted by Caitin Ellwanger's RBI double and Jacqui Abogado's RBI single.
The Pioneers were held to just two hits in the contest. Sydney Silverstine (1-2) pitched all 6.0 innings to earn the shutout victory, striking out four.
Amelia Timko (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) (0-1) got the start and pitched 2.0 innings. She gave up the two home runs but struck out four.
Sarah Keating (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) could not complete the third inning before she gave up four runs on four hits.
Ashton Helmke (Defiance, Ohio/Tinora) came in to provide 3.1 shutout innings.
Marietta will next travel to Florida to play during Spring Break. They will battle Bethany Lutheran this Sunday (March 6). First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
Fans can follow all of 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.
