Marietta falls to Otterbein 11-6 in game three of OAC Baseball Tournament
Pioneers will need to win three games on Sunday to claim title

May. 13, 2006
WESTERVILLE, Ohio — The No. 26 Marietta College baseball team let another late lead slip away to host No. 22 Otterbein College Saturday (May 13) in game three of the 2006 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Baseball Tournament. The Cardinals advanced to the championship game thanks to a 11-6 victory, sparked by a five-run eighth inning. Marietta (33-9) fell into the loser's bracket and will need three wins on Sunday to steal the title from Otterbein (29-13).

The Pioneers were supposed to play again on Saturday, but rain forced game four between Heidelberg and Mount Union to be called in the eighth inning with the Purple Raiders leading 10-7. That contest will be resumed Sunday morning at 8 a.m. The Pioneers will take on the winner in game five at approximately 9:30 a.m. If Marietta wins that game, it will need to defeat undefeated Otterbein twice Sunday afternoon to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament.

In a game that was originally slated to be played Friday morning, Marietta took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, when senior Jarrod Klausman (Altoona, Pa.) laced the first pitch he saw from Otterbein's Dan Remenowsky over the right field fence for a two-out, solo home run.

The Pioneers extended their lead to 2-0 in the second frame. Junior Ryan Eschbaugh (Marietta) singled through the right side with one out and the bases loaded to score junior Joe Litke (Windsor, Conn.). Marietta, however, left the bases juiced as Remenowsky got out of the jam.

Otterbein finally got on the board against senior Mike DeMark (Jeanette, Pa./Penn-Trafford) in the third inning, as it took advantage of two Marietta errors to score three runs and take a 3-2 lead.

The Pioneers reclaimed the advantage, 5-3, with a three-run fourth inning, only for the Cardinals to tie it at 5-5 in the seventh.

A Litke ground out in the bottom of the seventh scored Klausman, who led off with a double, and gave the Etta Express the lead for the third time in the game. It was short-lived, however, as Otterbein exploded for five runs off freshman reliever Mike Dennick (North Olmsted) in the eighth inning to capture complete control of the game. The Cardinals would add another run in the ninth en route to an 11-6 victory.

Remenowsky went eight innings to earn the win and improve to 8-2 on the spring. He allowed six runs on 11 hits. DeMark worked seven solid innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits, but got a no decision. Dennick (6-2) suffered the loss after giving up five runs on three hits in two-third of an inning.

Marietta out hit Otterbein 13-to-10 and both teams committed two errors.

Klausman finished 4-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and RBI. Eschbaugh went 3-for-3, while Litke and sophomore Tony Piconke (Clinton Twp., Mich./Clintondale) each had two hits in the loss.

All of the Pioneers' action during day four of the OAC Tournament can be heard live on voice of the Etta Express, WMOA-AM 1490 and mariettaonline.com.