Etta Express back in the postseason
Marietta will open Mideast Regional play on Wednesday against Kings (Pa.) at 4:30 p.m.

May. 15, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College baseball is back in the postseason. Following Sunday's 30-inning marathon, Pioneer faithful were forced to wait for an at-large bid, something that had eluded them in each of the last three years. 2006 is a different story, however, as the Etta Express were selected as the third seed in the Rose-Hulman Regional [Regional web site] in Terre Haute, Indiana. It will be Marietta's 32nd appearance in the Regional Tournament. The Etta Express have captured 18 Mideast Regional Championships.

The Pioneers (35-10) will open Regional play Wednesday (May 19) against sixth-seeded Kings College (25-14) from Wilke-Barre, Pennslyvania, at 4:30 p.m. Wooster (38-7) is the top seed and will get a first round bye. second-seeded Otterbein (29-14) will take on seventh-seeded Elizabethtown (Pa.) (25-15-1) in its first round game at 1 p.m. with a potential second round match-up between the two OAC rivals Thursday at 9:30 a.m.

Marietta will look to make the most of its opportunity at the seven-team Regional, which also includes Adrian (Mich.) and Manchester (Ind.). The at-large bid is especially special to the Pioneers' five seniors, who were looking to avoid being the first group since the class of 1970 not to make postseason play during their four years in the pin stripes. Those five Pioneers — pitcher Mike DeMark (Jeanette, Pa./Penn-Trafford), center fielder Chris Hendricks (Little Hocking/Warren Local), catcher Lee Guerrera (Wolcott, Conn.), left fielder/first baseman Jarrod Klausman (Altoona, Pa.) and third baseman Justin Steranka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) — have played a major factor in the success of this year's team.

Marietta is hitting .317 and averaging 6.2 runs this season. Klausman leads the squad with a .429 batting average (72-for-168), while adding 41 runs scored and 33 RBI. Junior Joe Litke (Windsor, Conn.) is also hitting above .400 on the year. He has gone 53-for-130 (.408) with a team-high 36 RBI in 43 games. Steranka and junior Ryan Belanger (Coldwater, Mich.) are both hitting .341. Steranka has a team high five home runs while adding 34 RBI. Belanger leads the team in runs scored with 46. All four were recently given All-OAC honors.

The Pioneer staff, which enters NCAA postseason play with a 2.89 earned run average, is led by first team All-OAC honorees junior Mike Eisenberg (Coral Gables, Fla./Bullis) and DeMark. Eisenberg has posted a 10-1 record with two saves and a 1.26 earned run average in 17 games this season. The right-hander has allowed 12 earned runs on 52 hits, walked 27 and struck out 106 hitters in 86.0 innings of work. DeMark has a 6-1 record with a 2.41 earned run average. In 67.3 innings of work, the right-hander has allowed 18 earned runs on 49 hits, walked 20 and struck out 66. Freshmen Jason Baumler (Crownsville, Md./Old Mill) (8-2, 3.22 ERA) and Ryan Dennick (North Olmsted) (7-2, 4.37 ERA) have also made huge impacts on the mound this season.

This will be the Pioneers’ 32nd appearance in the Mideast Regional. 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.

All of the action can be heard live on WMOA-AM 1490, the official voice of the Etta Express. The broadcast can also be heard on mariettaonline.com.