No. 25 Marietta rallies to defeat Denison, 5-4, in final OAC tune-up
Doty delivers pinch-hit, two-run single in eighth to lead Etta Express to victory

March 29, 2007
MARIETTA, Ohio – Junior Tom Doty (Mentor) made the most of his only at-bat Thursday (March 29) night under the lights at Don Schaly Stadium, when he capped off a Marietta College rally with a two-run single to center in the bottom of the eighth. The hit propelled the No. 25 Etta Express to a 5-4 victory over Denison in its final Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) tune-up.

The win improved the Pioneers' record to 12-4 overall, while Denison fell to 5-9. Marietta out-hit Denison 8-5 and the Etta Express committed the only error of the nine-inning game, which took just over two hours to complete.

Denison opened the scoring in the first inning off freshman starter Joe Pitrone (Highland Heights/Mayfield), when Chris Day hit a home run to left field, his second of the year. The Big Red scored again in the fourth, when an error opened the door for two runs to score.

Denison’s J.D. Wyborny held Marietta off the board until the sixth. Senior Ryan Belanger (Coldwater, Mich.) singled up the middle with one out and then stole second on a strikeout. Junior Tony Piconke (Clinton Twp./Clintondale) followed with a RBI single up the middle to score Belanger and make the score 3-1.

Denison built its lead back up to three runs, when Jake Mihalov opened with a single. Brandon McAdams pinch ran for him and stole second. McAdams then advanced to third and home when Pitrone had back-to-back balks.

The Pioneers threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh but only managed to plate one run, leaving a pair of runners stranded. Sophomore Cameron Cimino (Boardman) and junior Dom Winters (Washington, Pa.) both drew walks with a strikeout coming in between the at-bats. Freshman Chris Beatty (Seven Fields, Pa./Hampton) then singled home Cimino. Wyborny, however, was able to retire the next two batters to get out of the inning with Denison holding onto a 4-2 lead.

Marietta did finally break through in the eighth to take the lead, 5-4. Freshman Mark Lakas (Westerville/Mason) started the rally with a pinch-hit walk before giving way to freshman pinch runner Kristian DeJeet (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional). Piconke followed with a single through the left side to advance DeJeet to second. Mike Hundley then relieved Wyborny and got a strikeout. Cimino followed with a walk to load the bases for sophomore Don Pugliese (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny), who drove in a run when he was hit by a pitch for the sixth time this season. Doty stepped into the batter's box next and delivered a two-run single to center field, allowing Piconke and Cimino to score the fourth and fifth runs of the game.

Freshman Nate Eschbaugh (Marietta) (2-1), who entered in the eighth, got two ground outs and a fly out to close the game in the ninth and earn his second win of the season. He allowed just one hit in the two frames.

Pitrone scattered four runs (two earned) on four hits, walked one and struck out four in seven innings.

Hundley, who allowed one run on one hit, walked one and fanned two, suffered the loss to fall to 0-2. Wyborny was tagged for four runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out seven.

Belanger, who returned after missing the last three games with a leg injury, finished 2-for-4 and raised his batting average to .370, which is tied with Pugliese for the team lead. Piconke also went 2-for-4 in the win.