×

Another split: Marietta wins nightcap of DH vs. Muskingum

The No. 18 Marietta College baseball team has made a habit of splitting doubleheaders recently.

That trend continued Saturday when the Pioneers dropped a 3-2 decision to the Fighting Muskies in game one of an OAC twinbill before rebounding with a convincing 13-3 victory in the nightcap at Don Schaly Stadium.

Tied up at 1-1 in the fourth inning of the opening contest, Chris Winpigler punched a flyball deep enough to right field to score Mitch Geers from third base and give Marietta the lead.

Muskingum, though, rallied back in the top of the sixth. Michael Lynn grounded a one-out single back up the middle before coming all the way around to score on Brett Robberts’ deep double to left-centerfield to again tie things up.

Going into the eighth inning, James Luyster replaced starting pitcher Jason Byers, who struck out 10 batters and allowed just two runs in seven innings.

Luyster got into trouble, hitting a batter and walking another before surrendering an RBI-single to Muskingum’s Brandon Marczika to put MC down a run.

Muskies’ starter Austin Miller, who went the distance on the mound, made that lead stand up as he held the Pios scoreless in their final two at-bats to give Muskingum the win.

Looking to avoid a sweep and needing a win badly, the Etta Express turned it up a notch in game two.

Trailing 1-0 going into the fifth inning, Marietta’s bats came alive. After Christian Demko and Tyler Packanik each drove in runs on singles in the fifth, Ryan Hanahan demolished a pitch over the centerfielder’s head for a two-run triple in the sixth to give the Pioneers a 4-3 advantage.

Later in the seventh, the Brian Brewer-led ballclub broke things open. Marietta batted around in the inning as five different players drove in a run, making the score 9-3.

For good measure, the Pioneers added four more runs in the eighth to take a 10-run lead. Hanahan and Clint Roche each drove in a pair of runs during the rally.

Mike Fulton worked 3.1 innings of scoreless relief in the nightcap to earn the victory. Starter Mike Finlan lasted 5.2 innings, allowing three runs to take a no-decision.

Marietta’s record is now 14-8 overall and 4-2 in the OAC.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.15/week.

Subscribe Today