No. 26 Pioneers sweep Panthers in regular season finale
Steranka goes 5-for-7 in twinbill

May. 7, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — The No. 26 Marietta College baseball team concluded its regular season with a pair of victories over visiting Pitt-Bradford (Pa.) Sunday (May 7) at Don Schaly Stadium. Pioneer pitchers combined to scatter just two hits in a game one 7-0 victory. Marietta hitters then pounded out 12 hits en route to a 6-1 victory in the nightcap.

With the sweep, Marietta finished the regular season with a 32-8 record. It has now won 11 straight. Pitt-Bradford, meanwhile, fell to 24-13.

In game one, the Pioneers scored in each of the first three innings. In the first, junior Ryan Belanger (Coldwater, Mich.) reached base on a hit by pitch, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitched and scored on an error.

In the second, sophomore Tony Piconke (Clinton, Mich./Clintondale) opened with a single and went on to score on a double play.

Marietta’s big inning came in the third, when it scored four runs. Senior Jarrod Klausman (Altoona, Pa.) led off with a single and scored when senior Justin Steranka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) followed with a triple. Junior Joe Litke (Windsor, Conn.) was then hit by a pitch, before sophomore Tom Doty (Mentor) singled home Steranka for the second run of the inning. Freshman Justin Merryman (New Philadelphia) then delivered a two-out, two-run double to score both Litke and Doty and give MC a 6-0 lead.

The Pioneers picked up their final run in the sixth, when Belanger doubled and scored on a RBI single by Steranka.

Marietta finished with nine hits, while Pitt-Bradford had just two. Merryman and Steranka each went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI in the win.

Senior Mike DeMark (Jeanette, Pa./Penn-Trafford) pitched four solid innings, allowing just one hit and striking out six, to earn the win and improve to 6-1 on the year. Freshman Scott Dunn (Clinton, Pa./Southside) worked the final three innings to pick up the save, his third of year. Dunn also allowed just one hit in his time on the hill.

Marietta staked itself to a 6-0 lead in the nightcap by scoring two runs in the third and four more in the fifth. In the third, the Klausman and sophomore Dom Winters (Washintgon, Pa.) each had RBI sacrifice flies. In the fifth, freshman Josh Beebe (Fleming/Warren Local) led off with a triple and scored on a Klausman double. Steranka followed with a double of his own to plate Klausman. Steranka later scored on a double steal attempt.

The Panthers got on the board in the top of the sixth, as they scored on a Tim Knowlton (Greenwich/Mapleton) wild pitch.

Marietta had 12 hits in the second game. Beebe went 3-for-4 with a single, double, triple and two runs scored. Steranka also went 3-for-4 with a double, run scored and RBI. Sophomore Devan Ward (Hamilton) added a pair of hits in the win.

Junior Mike Eisenberg (Coral Gables, Fla./Bullis) got the start in his final tune-up before the OAC Tournament. Eisenberg allowed two hits and struck out five in three innings of work, before Beebe relieved him for the next three frames. Beebe, who gave up one run, also allowed two hits and fanned four. Freshman Alex Sedam (North Vernon, Ind./Jennings County) pitched a scoreless seventh to seal the victory.

The Pioneers now turn their attention to the OAC Tournament, which will be hosted by top-seed Otterbein. Marietta, the second seed, is scheduled to take on third-seeded Heidelberg Thursday (May 11) at 1 p.m. A match-up between host Otterbein and fourth-seeded Mount Union will follow at 4 p.m.