No. 19 Pioneers defeat No. 29 Presidents 4-1
Washington & Jefferson held to just one hit in the loss

Apr. 25, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — Rain delayed the first pitch of Tuesday’s (Apr. 25) game for 90 minutes, but once the skies cleared No. 19 Marietta College hosted No. 29 Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) in a battle of the third and fourth-ranked teams in the Mideast Region. Pioneer pitchers kept the President hitters, who entered batting .432, off balance all evening and got enough offense to pull out the 4-1 victory.

With the win, Marietta snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 22-8 on the season. With the loss, Washington & Jefferson fell to 22-7 on the spring.

The Presidents jumped ahead 1-0 by scoring an unearned run in the top of the first inning off Pioneer freshman Jason Baumler (Crownsville, Md./Old Mill).

Marietta responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the first. Senior Chris Hendricks (Little Hocking/Warren Local) led off with a walk and moved to second one out later on an infield single by senior Jarrod Klausman (Altoona, Pa.). Washington & Jefferson’s Sam Mann recorded the second out of the frame with a strikeout, but junior Joe Litke (Windsor, Conn.) came through by hitting a first-pitch fastball up the middle for a RBI single, plating Hendricks with the tying run.

The score remained tied at 1-1 until the bottom of the fifth, when Marietta took a 2-1 advantage after juniors Ryan Eschbaugh (Marietta) and Ryan Belanger (Coldwater, Mich.) successfully pulled off a double steal. Belanger scored on the play.

The Etta Express added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh. Belanger reached on an error to open the inning, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Devan Ward (Hamilton) and then scored on a RBI single by Hendricks.

Marietta extended its lead to 4-1 in the eighth, when senior Lee Guerrera (Wolcott, Conn.) picked up a RBI double with two outs to score Klausman, who reach base on a hit by pitch to lead off the frame.

Baumler, who improved to 5-2 on the year, worked in and out of trouble for seven innings, mainly due to his seven walks, but allowed just the one unearned run on one hit in his first outing since being hit above the wrist and having to leave the game against Muskingum on April 18.

Freshman Tim Knowlton (Greenwich/Mapleton) worked two scoreless innings in relief to pick up his first collegiate save.

Pioneer pitchers held the Presidents hitless over the final 36 batters.

Mann suffered the loss to fall to 2-4. He allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits and struck out 10 in seven innings of work. Ian Poole also saw action on the mound and allowed one run on one hit in one inning.

Marietta finished with eight hits and overcame four errors to win the game. Litke led the offense with a 3-for-4 performance. Warren Stowe had the only hit, a double, for the Presidents.

The Pioneers return to Ohio Athletic Conference play Wednesday (Apr. 26), when the Capital Crusaders come to Pioneer Park for a 4 p.m. doubleheader.