Pioneers improve to 5-4 on the year with wins over Southwestern and Hardin-Simmons on Texas trip

Mar. 15, 2006
ABILENE, Texas — The eighth-ranked Marietta College baseball team improved to 5-4 on the season with two wins on day three of its Spring Break Trip to the lone star state. The Pioneers began the afternoon with an 8-0 victory over Southwestern (TX) and then took down host Hardin-Simmons (TX) under the lights, 10-7.

Freshman Jason Baumler had his best outing of the spring in Marietta’s first game, helping it defeat Southwestern (8-10). Baumler scattered six hits and struck out seven over eight innings to improve to 2-0 on the year.

Marietta’s bats broke out for two runs in the second inning, when Senior Justin Steranka and junior Joe Litke came through with back-to-back singles with one out. Junior Ryan Eschbaugh followed with a walk and then everyone moved up a base, including Steranka who came across the plate, on a balk. Junior Ryan Belanger then drove in the second run with a two-out single.

Belanger single and scored from first base when senior Jarrod Klausman singled to right in the fourth to put MC ahead 3-0.

Litke had the big hit, a two-run double, to help the Pioneers add four more runs in the seventh inning against Southwestern.

Senior Lee Guerrera scored Marietta’s eighth and final run of the game in the eighth frame, when he singled and scored on a RBI single by Hendricks.

Marietta out-hit Southwestern 11-to-six in the win. Belanger finished 3-for-5, while Klausman and Litke each were on base twice with hits.

In the nightcap, Marietta took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when sophomore Tony Piconke led off with a home run to left field, his first of the spring. Hardin-Simmons tied the score in the bottom of the frame. Freshman pitcher Alex Sedam got a hitter to hit into a 5-4-3 double play, but a runner on third scored on the play.

The Pioneers regained the lead with five runs in the fourth and Hardin-Simmons added three in the fifth, before Marietta came back with three runs in the sixth. Hardin-Simmons rounded out the scoring with three runs in the eighth, but could not get any closer, as Marietta picked up the win.

Marietta finished with 10 runs on 13 hits and committed two errors, while Hardin-Simmons collected seven runs on 11 hits and made five errors.

Litke led the offense with three hits in four at-bats. Klausman, Belanger, sophomore Zack Welch and Piconke each added two hits in the win.

Sedam (1-1) picked up the victory, allowing five runs on eight hits in five innings of work. Freshman Justin Merryman threw three innings and gave up three runs on three hits and sophomore Andy Glazier pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up the save.

Marietta is off Thursday (Mar. 16), as it will play two junior varsity games, before heading two hours east to Forth Worth close out its trip to Texas with a twin bill against Texas Wesleyan on Friday. Both games can be heard on WMOA-AM 1490 and on the Internet at mariettaonline.com