No. 30 Marietta baseball defeats No. 23 Washington & Jefferson (Pa.), 4-1
Etta Express now set for OAC finale with Baldwin-Wallace on Saturday

May 2, 2007
WASHINGTON, Pa. — The National Champion Marietta College baseball team continued to build its 2007 playoff resume Wednesday (May 2) night with a 4-1 victory over Mideast Region rival and host No. 23 Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) at Ross Memorial Park.

The match up, the 11th in the all-time series with all games won by the Pioneers, pitted two of the top five teams the Mideast Region, according to the April 26 NCAA Division III Regional poll. Marietta, who improved to 26-11 overall and 22-7 against in-region competition, was ranked third and Washington & Jefferson, who fell to 26-8, was fifth in the rankings. Updated rankings are due out later this week.

The Pioneer's coaching staff sent a pair of freshman pitchers—Nate Eschbaugh (Marietta) and Tyler Penwell (Washington Court House)—to the mound against the Presidents' senior ace Sam Mann. The duo combined to limit Washington & Jefferson's offense, which came in hitting .361, to one run on seven hits in the win. Eschbaugh, who got the start, worked four strong innings. He allowed just one run, a solo home run by Shaun Pfeil to lead off the second, on five hits and struck out one. Penwell, who earned the win to improve to 2-3, scattered two runs and three walks while striking out two over the final five innings.

Marietta's offense, which collected nine hits, entered the fifth inning trailing by a run, 1-0. Sophomore Justin Merryman (New Philadelphia) opened the frame with a single to left and advanced to second when the ball was mishandled by the left fielder. Freshman Danny Jones (Lima/Shawnee), the next hitter, was hit by a pitch. Senior Ryan Belanger (Coldwater, Mich.) then laid down a sacrifice bunt, attempting to move up both runners. The pitcher fielded the bunt and threw the ball into left field when he tried to get Merryman at third base, allowing both Merryman and Jones to score and give the Pioneers a 2-1 lead. Belanger tried to get all of the way to third but was thrown out on the play.

The Etta Express added insurances runs in the eighth and ninth en route to the 4-1 win. Junior Tony Piconke (Clinton Twp., Mich./Clintondale) singled up the middle to start the eighth. He then advanced to second on a passes ball and to third on a Tom Doty (Mentor) sacrifice bunt. Piconke scored, when junior pinch hitter Dom Winters (Washington, Pa.) reached on a fielder's choice. In the ninth, Belanger singled with two outs and scored from first on a double down the left field line by senior Ryan Eschbaugh (Marietta).

Belanger finished the evening 3-for-4 to improve his batting average to a team-high .375. Piconke, who is now hitting .364, and Merryman went 2-for-4 in the win. Ron Mitko (3-for-3) and Justin Benson (2-for-5) combined for five of the Presidents' seven hits in the loss.

Marietta now returns its attention to the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Pioneers, who enter the final weekend in a three-way tie for first place with rivals Heidelberg and Otterbein, still have a chance to host the OAC Tournament. To do so, Marietta would need to sweep its doubleheader with Baldwin-Wallace and have Heidelberg and Otterbein drop at least one game to Muskingum and John Carroll, respectively.

Saturday's first pitch with Baldwin-Wallace is slated for 12 p.m. because it is Alumni Weekend at Marietta. The action will be carried live by WMOA-AM 1490. It can also be heard online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts. Live statistics can be obtained at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/livestats/xlive.htm.