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MARIETTA -- The No. 6 ranked Marietta College baseball team took two games from Muskingum University on Sunday (April 25) to complete a three-game sweep of the Muskies. The Pioneers won game one, 6-5 in 11 innings, and then routed the Muskies, 19-4 in seven innings, in game two.
Marietta improves to 21-3 overall and remains in first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference standings with a 19-2 conference record. Muskingum falls to 7-12-1 on the season and 7-10-1 in conference games.
Alex Page (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe) lifted a deep sacrifice flyball to center field in the bottom of the eleventh inning that allowed Mathew Busby to tag and score the winning run in the first game of the day.
Drew Wilkinson (Medina, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) got hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Jared Weiss (Uniontown, Ohio/Green) drew a walk moving Wilkinson into scoring position at second base. Pioneer head coach Brian Brewer put Busby in to run for Wilkinson.
Turner Hill (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) followed with a sac bunt moving Busby to third and Weiss to second. The Muskies intentionally walked Damian Yenzi (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) loading the bases for Page. Page ended the game with the sac fly.
Page got the Pioneers on the board in the first inning, Hill drew a one-out walk and, following a fly out from Yenzi, stole second base. Page lined a single through the right side of the infield scoring Hill from second base.
Wilkinson smacked an RBI triple in the second inning and then later scored on a wild pitch for a 3-0 Marietta lead.
After Muskingum cut the lead to one, 3-2, in the top of the third, Hill blasted his first career home run to lead off the bottom of the inning and extend the Pioneer lead to 4-2.
The Muskies scored single runs in the fifth, seventh and eighth innings to take a 5-4 lead. Marietta tied the game in the bottom of the eighth when Page was hit by a pitch and then advanced all the way to third base on a sac bunt from Drew Holderbach (Fairfield, Ohio/Badin). Page scored on a wild pitch.
Sam Mathews (Fairfield, Ohio/Badin) (5-1) picked up the win in relief. He pitched the final 3.0 innings and allowed no runs on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Nicklaus Brown (Kenton, Ohio/Benjamin Logan) started and threw 3.0 innings giving up two runs on five hits.
Dalton Wiggins (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) and Griffin Malick (Akron, Ohio/Ellet) threw in relief before turning the ball over to Mathews.
Brayden Bush (0-2) was tagged with the loss. Holden Martin started and went 6.1 innings allowing four runs on six hits. Clark Jennings pitched 1.2 innings and then Bush worked the final 2.2 innings. Bush gave up one run on one base hit.
Hill finished 2-for-3 with one RBI, two runs scored and three stolen bases. Page drove in two runs and Wilkinson had two hits, including a triple.
Game two was all Marietta. The Pioneers scored 19 runs on 21 base hits. An 11-run fourth inning blew the game wide open. Marietta sent 16 hitters to the plate collecting 11 hits in the 11-run fourth inning.
Dylan Albright (Huntsville, Ohio/Indian Lake) went 3-for-3 with a double, triple, two-run home run and five runs batted in. Wilkinson and Logan Vietmeier (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) also had three hits in the game. Hill, Yenzi, Page and Holderbach had two hits apiece.
Five different pitchers toed the rubber for Marietta. Trent Valentine (Byesville, Ohio/Cambridge) started and worked 2.0 shutout innings. Kail Hill (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) (1-0) earned the win, his first career victory, with 1.2 innings of work. Hill allowed two runs on two hits.
Erik Cover (0-1) started and took the loss for Muskingum. Cover was charged with six runs on seven hits. Four other Muskies pitched in the game.
The Etta Express travels to Westerville on Monday (May 3) for a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Otterbein University.
SOFTBALL
NEW CONCORD, Ohio -- Muskingum University swept an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader from Marietta College Sunday (April 25) afternoon. The Muskies won game one, 9-1 in six innings, and completed the sweep with a 9-3 win in game two.
Marietta falls to 11-17 overall and 11-17 in the OAC. Muskingum improves to 22-10 on the season and 21-7 on league play.
Muskingum scored in each of the first three innings to build a 4-1 lead. The Muskies added three runs in the fifth and then ended the game with two more in the sixth.
Marietta's lone run came in the second inning when Kylie Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier) led off and reached third base on a fielding error by the Muskie center fielder. Jordan Pallay (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley) picked up the RBI with a sac fly scoring Daugherty.
Maddi Liston (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) (6-6) started in the circle for the Pioneers and took the loss. Liston threw 2.o innings and allowed three runs on four hits. She struck out one. Sarah Keating (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) and Airyanna Maurer (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) each pitched in relief for Marietta.
Hannah Smith (10-2) got the complete game win. She allowed on unearned run on three hits. Smith walked two and struck out seven.
In the second game, Muskingum again scored early and often and led 7-0 after four innings. The Pioneers plated three runs in the fifth only to see the Muskies score two in the home half of the inning for a 9-3 lead.
Taylor Watts (Galloway, Ohio/West Jefferson) led off the fifth with a walk for the Pioneers. Maicy Kirk (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) singled through the left side of the infield and then after a flyout, Daugherty loaded the bases with a single up the middle.
Whitley Arno (Hamilton, Ohio/Ross) was called on to pinch hit for the Pioneers and delivered a two-run single to right center scoring Watts and Kirk and moving Daugherty to third. Pallay followed with a double to left center scoring Daugherty.
Madelyn Thomas took over in the circle for Muskingum and retired the next two hitters to get out of the inning.
Hannah Duff (9-6) started for Muskingum and got the win. She pitched 3.0 shutout innings and allowed five hits with two strikeouts. Skylar Lafferty worked 1.1 innings and gave up three runs on four hits. Thomas threw the final 2.2 innings without allowing a hit.
Hannah Richardson (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville Central) (1-1) started and took the loss for Marietta. She pitched 1.1 innings and gave up four runs, one earned, on four hits. Ashton Helmke (Defiance, Ohio/Tinora) gave up three runs on three hits in 2.2 innings, while Breanna Zirkle (Pomeroy, Ohio/Meigs) allowed two runs on two hits in 2.0 innings.
Kirk and Daugherty each had two hits in the game for Marietta.
Marietta plays at Otterbein University on Friday (April 30). First pitch for the OAC doubleheader is set for 2 p.m.