Marietta sweeps Mideast Region rival Allegheny (Pa.)
Freshmen pitchers Dunn and Dennick have solid outings

MARIETTA, Ohio — Allegheny College (Pa.) visited Pioneer Park for a non conference doubleheader with Marietta College Wednesday (Mar. 29) afternoon. The Pioneers and Gators had some memorial games as they battled for Mideast Regional crowns in seasons past. On Wednesday, Marietta was able to pull out two victories against Allegheny, winning 9-2 and 5-1.

With the wins, the Pioneers improved to 11-5, while the Gators fell to 3-11.

In game one, Marietta jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning. Allegheny starter contributed to his own demise by hitting four batters in the inning. Senior Lee Guerrera made him pay with a three-run double. Senior Justin Steranka and junior Joe Litke also had RBIs in the inning.

The Etta Express added two more runs in the third. Sophomore Zack Welch had a two-out, two-run single in the inning.

Allegheny finally got on the board with a pair of runs in the fourth, when it strung together three hits off Marietta starter Scott Dunn. Both the runs were unearned, however, as the Pioneers had an error to start the inning.

Marietta's bats quickly got those two runs back in their half of the fourth. Senor Jarrod Klausman and sophomoreTony Piconke had back-to-back doubles with one out and Litke followed with a RBI single to complete the game's scoring.

Dunn (2-1) worked six strong innings before being replaced by fellow freshman Tim Knowlton. Dunn gave up five hits, walked four and struck out four in the game.

Marietta had 10 hits in the win; Piconke and senior Chris Hendricks each had a pair.

The nightcap turned out to be a little tougher for Marietta, as it was held scoreless for the first four innings. Allegheny took a 1-0 lead in the third. Freshman Ryan Dennick walked Dirk Bonessa with one out and then threw a wild pitch, sending him to second. Bonessa then scored on a RBI single off the bat of Dan Ayer.

The single, however, was only one of two given up by Dennick, who worked six strong innings and improved to 3-1. He struck out three and walked one before junior Mike Eisenberg came on to close the game in the seventh.

Marietta was able to tie the game at 1-1 with a run in the fifth inning. Junior Ryan Belanger reached on a fielding error when he bunted the ball to the pitcher. Junior Ryan Eschbaugh followed with a single to move Belanger to second base. Klausman then hit a ball to first base. The first baseman bobbled the ball, allowing the runner to advance. He then threw it over the pitcher's head covering, giving Belanger the time to cross the plate with the tying run.

The Pioneers took the lead with a four-run fifth inning. All of the action came with two outs. Hendricks, Guerrera and Belanger had consecutive singles. Hendricks scored on Belanger's hit. Guerrera eventually scored on a wild pitch, while Belanger crossed the plate on a single by Eschbaugh. Eschbaugh stole second base and then raced home on a double by Klausman.

Marietta out hit Allegheny 8-to-3 in the nightcap. Eschbaugh finished 3-for-3, while five other Pioneers had a hit.

The Etta Express return to action Saturday (Apr. 1) when they play host to Wilmington at Pioneer Park. First pitch of the Ohio Athletic Conference opener is slated for 1 p.m.