DENISON, Marietta — Marietta College split a doubleheader at No. 4 ranked Denison University Sunday (April 13) afternoon in nonconference baseball action. Denison won the first game, 3-1, while the Pioneers took game two, 5-3. Marietta moves to 14-15 overall and Denison is 21-5 on the season.
Both games featured strong pitching by both teams. Manny Hager (1-0) started game one for Denison and got the win. He tossed 5.0 shutout innings scattering three hits with one walk and three strikeouts. Michael Gray gave up one run on one hit in 3.0 innings and Jack Rollo got the save after allowing one hit and striking out two in the ninth.
Zach Marzetz (Blacklick, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) (2-3) started and took the loss for Marietta. He allowed three runs on just four hits with one walk in 5.2 innings.
Brennan Stobbs (Medina, Ohio/Medina) gave up no runs on one hit with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings of relief.
Denison got on the board in the third inning. Eron Vega led off with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch. Following a pop out in the infield, Alex Vasquez drove in Vega with an infield single to the shortstop.
The Big Red made it 3-0 with two runs in the sixth. Jack Lutte and Max Fishbein reached on singles, and both scored on a double from Cade Nowik.
Marietta loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth but managed just one run.
Shane Rothlisberger (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) led off with a single.
Thomson Babineau (Scituate, Mass./Calvary Chapel) reached on an error and
Bryce Bogan (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) was hit by a pitch.
Drew McKenna (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) hit a sac fly to right scoring Rothlisberger. The next two batters were retired ending the threat.
Cole Rieman (West Chester, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller) was the lone Pioneer with two hits in the game.
In the second game, Marietta scored a run in five different innings and then held on as the Big Red rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth and had the tying run at the plate when the game ended.
Freshman
Reece Rupert (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland) (1-1) started on the mound and pitched 6.0 shutout innings for his first career win. He allowed just two hits with one walk and one strikeout.
Zach Madan (Lyndhurst, Ohio/Lake Catholic) gave up three runs on three hits in 2.1 innings, while
Evan Wilson (Charleston, W.Va./Capital) notched his first career save by retiring the only two batters he faced.
Vega (1-2) started and took the loss. He was charged with two runs on three hits in 3.1 innings. Denison used four relief pitchers in the game.
Cael Magill (Atco, N.J./King's Christian) got the Pioneers on the board with an RBI double in the first that scored
Cam Russell (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan). A McKenna sac fly score
Nick Bonnizzio (Hudson, Ohio/Twinsburg) in the fourth. Magill picked up another RBI in the fifth when he reached on an error.
Marietta pulled off a first and third double steal in the seventh as
Jeremy Tonelli (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) stole home for the fourth run of the game. The Pioneers' final run scored on a balk in the top of the ninth.
Denison finally got on the board in the ninth when Kuyper Lashutka was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The Big Red scored a second run on a wild pitch and the third scored on a ground out.
Russell and Magill each had two hits in the game for the Pioneers.
Marietta travels to John Carroll University on Friday (April 18). The first game is slated to start at 1:00 p.m.
Fans can follow the Etta Express all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on X and Instagram.
