No. 19 Marietta defeats Bethany 13-4 for tenth straight win
Showdown with No. 2 Wooster set for Wednesday afternoon

Apr. 11, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio – The No. 19 Marietta College baseball team extended its win streak to 10 games with a 13-4 victory over visiting Bethany (W.Va.) Tuesday (Apr. 11) night at Pioneer Park.

With the victory, the Etta Express improved to 18-5 overall and are 4-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Bison fell to 5-18 on the year.

Bethany struck first, scoring two runs off Pioneer freshman Jason Baumler in the top of the first inning. Rich Majewski led off the game with a home run, his second of the year. The Bison scored their other run when Baumler hit a batter with the bases loaded.

Marietta went scoreless in its half of the first, but quickly tied the game in the second. Senior Chris Hendricks, who was making his first start of the year behind the plate, led off the inning with a walk and scored when junior Joe Litke drilled a home run to right field. It was his first of the spring.

The Pioneers took the lead for good with a three-run third. Junior Ryan Belanger and senior Jarrod Klausman opened the frame with back-to-back singles. A sacrifice fly by senior Justin Steranka moved Belanger to third base. Belanger scored a few pitches later on a Hendricks’ infield single. Litke followed with a base-clearing double to make the score 5-0.

Marietta added a single run in the fourth, when sophomore Tony Piconke singled home sophomore Devan Ward, who reached on a fielder’s choice earlier in the inning.

The Bison pulled within three, 7-4, when the plated two more runs on three hits in the fifth. Marietta responded with another run off the bat of Litke. This time, it was a sacrifice fly which scored Steranka.

The Pioneers broke the game open when they sent 11 men to the plate and scored six runs in their half of the inning. Klausman had a two-run triple, Steranka had a RBI double and Hendricks had a sacrifice fly, while junior Ryan Eschbaugh and sophomore Devan Ward each added RBI singles in the frame.

Baumler (3-1) earned the win, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits in six innings of work. He struck out five and walked one. Freshman Scott Dunn worked three scoreless innings to earn the save, his second of the year.

Jake Dailer (0-3) took the loss for the Bison, allowing six runs on five hits in three innings of work.

Overall, Marietta pounded out 12 hits and Bethany finished with eight. Both teams committted four errors in the game.

Litke finished 2-for-3 and had his second five RBI game of the year. Klausman went 3-for-5 to move his season average to a team-high .402. Hendricks also had a pair of hits in the win.

Aaron Meadows finished with three hits for the Bison.

Marietta will now turn its attention to Wooster, the second-ranked team in the nation. The two national powers will go head-to-head Wednesday (Apr. 12) in a single, nine-inning game at 4 p.m. It will be the Pioneers' first visit to Wooster since 1987. The Fighting Scots won last year's battle at Pioneer Park 16-8. Marietta leads the all-time series, however, 27-12. The game can be heard live on WMOA-AM 1490 and http://www.mariettaonline.com.