Feb. 15, 2007

Can Etta Express do it again?
Ellen Doolittle
doolitte@marietta.edu

The Etta Express, currently ranked number seven in the NCAA Division III Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll, is training hard with the confidence and high expectations that come with being the reigning national champions.

Coach Brian Brewer, the 2006 ABCA/Diamond NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year as well as the Mideast Region Coach of the Year, is in his fourth year as head coach and says his squad is looking forward to the season’s first pitch. Brewer’s bunch will look to its upperclassman for leadership, especially seniors Ryan Belanger (second baseman), Joe Litke (first baseman), and Ryan Eschbaugh (shortstop)—all of whom add experience and poise to the infield. The Pioneers also return key juniors right-fielder Tony Piconke, designated hitter Tom Doty, and sophomore pitcher Jason Baumler, who played significant roles in last year’s national championship run.

Brewer will look for several freshmen to step-up and contribute to this year’s team, and he says that all the freshmen seem to have the work ethic that it takes to be a part of the Etta Express.

But the road to another national championship will not be an easy one, as the Pioneers will have to replace many key players from last year, including two All-American pitchers. Pitching has been one of the question marks for the 2007 team, but coach Tyler Mott says that the 19 freshman and sophomores training in the pitcher position are working very hard. Mott commented, “The focus is there, and they are anxious to learn day in and day out.”

The Pioneers are not the only powerhouse in the OAC looking for a national championship, as Otterbein College—currently ranked first in the preseason poll—returns most of the players that helped the Cardinals defeat the Pioneers five of the seven times they met last season.

The Etta Express has a strong coaching staff that is pushing them day to day to prepare for that all-important first pitch. Mike Deegan, entering his fourth year as an assistant coach, will continue to work with players on their hitting game, and Jim Bonnette, a graduate of Akron University, joins the coaching staff and will work closely with the catchers. Chris Hendricks, a member of the 2006 squad, will return as a student assistant.

“Our plan year in and year out has always been to try and win every pitch of every inning of every ballgame,” says head coach Brian Brewer. The Etta Express will open the season in Atlanta (GA) on March 3, and will again head to Texas during Spring Break. The first home bout will take place on March 20 at Don Schaly Stadium when the Pioneers take on LaRoche (PA).