MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College swept Capital University in an Ohio Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader Sunday (Apr. 26) afternoon at Pioneer Park. The Pioneers won game one, 8-0, and then downed the Comets 3-2 in 11 innings in game two. Marietta is now 10-20 overall and 7-7 in the OAC. Capital falls to 15-19 overall and 4-10 in the OAC.
Austin Ziance (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) (5-4) scattered three singles and struck out nine batters in 8.0 innings of work to get the win in game one.
Evan Wilson (Charleston, W.Va./Capital) struck out two of the three batter her faced in the ninth inning.
Michael Ciavolella (Tallmadge, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) smacked a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to get the Etta Express rolling. A third run scored in the opening frame on a wild pitch.
Cooper Fiehrer (Hamilton, Ohio/Badin) had RBI singles in the third and fourth innings, while
Zack Molloy (Chambersburg, Pa./Saint James) drove in two runs with a single in the fourth.
Nash Andrix (3-4) started and got the loss for Capital. He allowed eight runs, five earned, on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 3.2 innings. Tyler Bebout worked 3.1 innings and Kalen Mullins threw 1.0 inning.
Molloy finished 3-for-5 with a triple, two runs scored, and two RBI. Ciavolella and Fiehrer had two hits and two RBI apiece.
In the second game, Capital took advantage of a Pioneer error to score an unearned run in the top of the ninth inning to grab a 2-1 lead. A sac fly from Bryce Kyees allowed Colin Tomanski to score the go ahead run.
In the bottom of the inning, Molloy lined a one out, pinch hit single up the middle. Ciavolella allowed with a double to the left center gap scoring Molloy from first base to tie the game, 2-2.
The Comets got a runner to third base with one out in the tenth. But a pair of groundouts got the Pioneers out of trouble without allowing a run. After retiring Capital in order in the top of the eleventh, Molloy reached on a leadoff double in the bottom of the inning.
Capital intentionally walked Ciavolella and a sac bunt from
Diego DeCello (Hamilton, Ohio/Badin) moved Molloy to third and Ciavolella to second. The Comets intentionally walked
Bradley Jones (Louisville, Ky./Ferncreek) loading the bases with one out.
Evan Wilson (Charleston, W.Va./Capital) stepped to the plate and took three straight balls. A called strike and a foul ball ran the count full, 3-2. Dawson Lewis's payoff pitch was out of the zone walking Wilson and plating Molloy with the winning run.
Luke Czarnomski (Medina, Ohio/Medina) (2-4) got the win in relief after retiring all three batters he faced in 1.0 inning of work.
Jared Bees (Pittsburgh, Pa./Eden Christian) started and pitched 3.0 innings giving up no runs on two hits. Fiehrer,
Reece Rupert (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland),
Zach Madan (Lyndhurst, Ohio/Lake Catholic), and
Nate Holowka (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) all threw in relief for the Pioneers.
William Furry started for Capital and went 6.0 innings. He gave up one unearned run on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Casey Wilkins (2-3) was tagged with the loss after allowing two runs on five hits in 4.0 innings. He walked two and struck out six.
Ciavolella went 4-for-5 with a double. Molloy was 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored.
Marietta closes out the regular season next Saturday (May 2) at Wilmington College. The first game starts 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.
