Pioneers let late lead slip away against visiting Panthers
Marietta falls to Ohio Dominican 16-12

April 24, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — Head Coach Brian Brewer and the Marietta College baseball team’s attempt to climb over .500 for the first time this season was denied when former Pioneer assistant and current Ohio Dominican University Head Coach Paul Page’s squad plated seven runs in the top of the ninth to steal a 16-12 victory from the Etta Express Thursday (April 24) night at Don Schaly Stadium. Marietta, who fell to 16-17, had battled back from a 5-0 deficit and entered the ninth leading 11-9 but could not close the door on the victory, which went to the Panthers, who improved to 28-11 on the spring.

Both teams finished with 15 hits and left their share of men on base. It was five Pioneer errors, however, that proved to be the difference in the non-conference match-up.

Coach Page’s Ohio Dominican struck for two runs in both the second and third frames off freshman starter Mark Williams (Fayetteville) to take a 4-0 advantage. Three hits in four at-bats helped plate a pair of runs in the second, while Wilbert Morales hit a two-run home run to deep left in the third. The Panthers added a fifth run on an infield single in the fourth.

The Etta Express climbed back into the game with a four-run fourth. Back-to-back singles by freshman Britt Meador (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) and sophomore Danny Jones (Lima/Shawnee) followed by a walk to senior Dom Winters (Washington, Pa.) loaded the bases. Freshman Casey Levens (Dayton/Centerville) then delivered a two-run single up the middle and junior Cameron Cimino (Boardman) had a RBI double. Levens, who scored on a wild pitch, pulled Marietta within a run, 5-4.

The Pioneers took a 6-5 lead in the sixth. Senior Tony Piconke (Clinton Township, Mich./Clintondale) drew a leadoff walk and scored the tying run on a Cimino fielder’s choice. Junior Justin Merryman (New Philadelphia), the team’s leading hitter, then delivered a pinch-hit RBI double down the right field line, plating Cimino with the go-ahead run.

In the seventh, the Panthers knocked out Williams and reclaimed the lead in the process. Williams walked the first two hitters before being replaced by sophomore Mark Jackson (Warren/Champion). A wild pitch moved runners up a base and a ground out plated Ohio Dominican’s sixth run of the game. Back-to-back Pioneer errors allowed two more runs to score and give the Panthers an 8-6 advantage. Another wild pitch resulted in the fourth run of the inning, giving Ohio Dominican a three-run lead.

The back-and-forth continued as Marietta plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh to knot the game back up at 9-9. Piconke had a two-run double off the right field fence and Levens added a run-scoring ground out to tie the game.

Jones broke the tie with a two-run home run to right field in the eighth. Meador walked and scored on the homer, Jones’ fourth of the season.

Once again, Marietta failed to close the door on a victory, as Ohio Dominican sent 12 runners to the plate and scored seven runs (four earned) in its final at-bat to take a 16-11 lead.

The Pioneers loaded the bases in their half of the ninth and scored a run on an infield single but could not get any closer as the Panthers won 16-12.

Meador finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Jones and Piconke both had two hits and drove in two runs, while Levens added a pair of hits and three RBI in the loss. Felix Brown and Joe Janusik both had three hits in the victory for the Panthers.

David Colopy picked up the win to improve to 8-1. He allowed two runs on two hits in two frames and actually gave up the lead but his offense helped him out with the seven-run ninth.

Jackson suffered the loss after allowing eight runs (four earned) on three hits in 2 2/3 innings. Williams scattered seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits and struck out five in six frames, his longest outing of the spring. Freshman Craig McGee (Gottstown, N.H.) came in to get the final out of the eight but not before he allowed one runs on two hits.

Marietta returns its attention to the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action when the Pioneers visit Berea, Ohio, for doubleheader with host Baldwin-Wallace College at 1 p.m. With four games left in league play, the Etta Express trails first place Heidelberg College by one game in the standings. The Pioneers have yet to play Ohio Northern, which they will do on May 3 (Alumni Day); the Student Princes have doubleheaders remaining against Wilmington and John Carroll. The games can be heard live locally in Marietta on WMOA-AM 1490 and over the Internet at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html.