Nine Marietta College baseball players named All-OAC in 2006
Litke, Belanger, Klausman, DeMark and Eisenberg named to the first team

May. 14, 2006
TWINSBURG, Ohio — The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) announced its 2006 All-Conference Baseball teams Sunday (May 14) and Marietta College had a league-high nine selections to the 45-man, three-team field of student-athletes. The All-OAC Baseball Teams are selected by League coaches at their annual spring meeting held in conjunction with the OAC Baseball Tournament. This year’s Tournament was held on the campus of Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio.

Five Pioneers — seniors Mike DeMark (Jeanette, Pa./Penn-Trafford) and Jarrod Klausman (Altoona, Pa.) and juniors Ryan Belanger (Coldwater, Mich.), Mike Eisenberg (Coral Gables, Fla./Bullis) and Joe Litke (Windsor, Conn.) — were awarded first team All-OAC honors.

DeMark, a three-time first team honoree, has a 6-1 record on the mound. The right-hander has appeared in 13 games with nine starts and three complete games. In 67.3 innings of work, DeMark has allowed 18 earned runs on 49 hits, walked 20 and struck out 66. The 2004 All-American carries a 2.41 earned run average and is holding opponents to a .202 batting average.

Klausman, who plays both left field and first base, is the Pioneers’ leading hitter on the year with a .429 batting average. He has collected 72 hits in 168 at-bats, scored 41 runs and driven in 33 runs. Klausman, who is 12-for-13 in stolen bases, also has 11 doubles, four doubles and one home run through 45 games. He has also had a solid year defensively, fielding .988 in 169 chances.

Litke, the primary first baseman who sees time at designated hitter, is hitting .408 in 44 games this season. He produced 53 hits in 130 at-bats and scored 20 runs with 36 RBI. Litke, who is fielding .993 in 287 opportunities, has eight doubles and one home run on the year.

Belanger, who was given honorable mention in 2005, has batted 59-for-173 (.341) in 45 games this season. The second baseman has legged out 11 doubles and two triples. He leads the team with 46 runs scored, has driven in 24 and is 15-for-17 in stolen bases. Belanger is also fielding .959 with just nine errors in 219 chances.

Eisenberg has posted a 10-1 record with two saves in 17 games this season. The right-hander has worked a complete game in eight of his 12 starts. Eisenberg has allowed 12 earned runs on 52 hits, walked 27 and struck out 106 hitters in 86.0 innings of work. The junior, who has a 1.26 earned run average, is holding opponents to just a .169 batting average.

Two more Pioneers — senior third baseman Justin Steranka (Pittburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) and freshman pitcher Ryan Dennick (North Olmsted) earned second team All-OAC recognition.

Steranka, a 2005 All-OAC honorable mention award winner, is hitting .341 (43-for-126) with 34 runs scored and 34 RBI in 39 games this season. He has added 11 doubles, one triple and five home runs, while swiping 10-of-11 stolen base attempts.

Dennick is 7-2 with a save in 14 games as a freshman hurler this year. He has allowed 27 earned runs on 51 hits, walked 25 and fanned 51 in 55.6 innings. Dennick’s earned run average is 4.37.

Senior catcher Lee Guerrera (Wolcott, Conn.) and freshman pitcher Jason Baumler (Crownsville, Md./Old Mill) were also given honorable mention All-OAC this spring.

Guerrera, a first team All-OAC honoree in 2005, is batting .305 (36-for-118) with 22 runs scored and 18 RBI in 39 games. The Pioneers’ signal caller has six doubles, two triples and two home runs on the year.

Baumler is 8-2 in his first year in the pin stripes. The right-hander has appeared in 14 games and started nine. Baumler has allowed 23 earned runs on 59 hits, while walking 20 and striking out 36 in 64.3 innings of action. He has a 3.22 earned run average.

On Monday, the Pioneers were awarded an at-large bid to the Terre Haute (Ind.) Region, which is being hosted by Rose-Hulman Wednesday-Saturday (May 17-20). Marietta will take on Kings (Pa.) on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in its first postseason game since losing the 2002 National Championship game to Eastern Connecticut State in Appleton, Wisconsin.

2006 will be the Pioneers’ 32nd appearance in the Mideast Region. Marietta, who holds 18 Mideast Regional Championships, has finished runners-up in seven National Championships and has three National Championship flags (1981, 1983, 1986) hanging at the newly dedicated Don Schaly Stadium.