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Etta Express ranked No. 1 in country
MARIETTA -- For the first time since winning back-to-back National Championships in 2011 and 2012, Marietta College is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the latest D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top-25 released Tuesday morning.
After earning a No. 3 preseason ranking, the Etta Express moved up to No. 2 in the first two weekly polls and have now moved into the top spot in the week three poll.
Marietta grabbed 14 first place votes and had a total of 610 points to earn the No. 1 ranking this week.
Cortland was second with 10 first place votes and 588 total points. Birmingham-Southern (498 points) was third, followed by Eastern Connecticut (1 first place vote, 487 points) and North Central (Illinois) (478 points).
In addition to beating North Central in Florida, Marietta was also victorious against No. 10 Webster. The Pioneers will play games this season against three other schools in this week's Top-25, including No. 15 Denison, No. 17 Baldwin Wallace and No. 25 Washington and Jefferson.
The Pioneers are currently 9-2 on the season after a going 7-1 in Florida. Marietta travels to Washington and Jefferson for a single game on Wednesday (March 16) at 4 p.m. and then returns to Don and Sue Schaly Field at Pioneer park on Saturday (March 19) for a doubleheader against Saint Vincent College.
Pioneers' Ellis, Isaly named All-Region
Marietta College seniors Jason Ellis and Lukas Isaly were named to the D3hoops.com All-Region 7 first team Tuesday morning. This is the second consecutive year that Ellis was named first team, while this is Isaly's first regional recognition.
"Jason and Lukas are two of the top players, not just in the region, but in the country," Marietta head coach Jon VanderWal said.
"They both, along with the rest of our upperclassmen, have worked so hard to get this team in a position to reach our ultimate goal ... a National Championship."
The two Pioneers helped lead Marietta to OAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships this winter. They were also crucial to the Pioneers in their run to the first-ever Final Four appearance in school history.
Both Pioneers ranked in the Top-10 of the OAC in several statistical categories. Ellis was third in scoring (17.4 ppg) while Isaly was eighth (16.1 ppg). Isaly was third in three-point shooting percentage (43.8%) while Ellis was ninth (40.9%). Ellis (93.5%) and Isaly (83.9%) were the top two free throw shooters in the conference and also ranked high in assists (Ellis was eighth with 3.4 apg and Isaly 's 2.9 apg were good for tenth). Ellis was fourth in the OAC with 1.4 steals per game.
Marietta ranked No. 2 in the D3hoops.com national poll. The Pioneers won the OAC Regular Season championship for the seventh time in the last eight years and the OAC Tournament title for the fifth time in program history.
The Pioneers' 29-2 record earned them the right to host the first four rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Marietta's 81-79 defeat for Christopher Newport this last Saturday catapulted the Pioneers into the Final Four.
MC's Mathews earns OAC weekly award
WESTERVILLE -- Marietta College senior Sam Mathews was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week Tuesday afternoon by the league office. This is the third time in his Pioneer career that Mathews has won this award.
Mathews appeared in four games during the Pioneers' Spring trip to Port Charlotte, Florida, all in relief. He shut the door in all four games not allowing a single run in 11.2 innings pitched. Matthews posted a win and two saves in those four appearances.
Against Lebanon Valley, Mathews struck out six of 11 batters faced. He pitched two innings versus highly ranked North Central. He struck out four of the seven batters he faced. In all, Mathews struck out 15 hitters during the week, only walking one and allowing just three hits.
The Pioneers won seven of eight games at the Snowbird Classic and are currently 9-2 overall. They next travel to Washington, Pa. this Wednesday to battle the No. 25 ranked Presidents of Washington and Jefferson College. They will play one nine-inning game with a first pitch at 4 p.m.
Pios' Hahn earns All-Region honors
Marietta College junior Erin Hahn was named to the D3hoops.com All-Region 7 third team Tuesday morning. She becomes just the third player in program history to receive All-Region honors joining Brooke Borich and Amisha Herd, who both earned third team honors in 2017-18.
"I am really happy to see Erin get this kind of recognition. It is great to be recognized as one of the best in the OAC, and to be one of the best in a really strong region like ours says a lot about her," Marietta head coach Kole Vivian said. "Erin had an unbelievable year for us and I am excited to see her help lead us to even more success next year."
Hahn was also named to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference first team after helping lead the Pioneers to their best record since the 2017-18 season. She was pivotal in Marietta's first round victory over Wittenberg University in the NCAA Tournament this year.
Hahn was ranked near the Top-10 of the OAC in several statistical categories including scoring (9.9 ppg), field goal shooting (40.8%), free throw shooting (71.7%), and she was third overall in the conference with eight rebounds per game.
Marietta finished the season with a 22-6 overall record and spent most of the season ranked in the D3hoops.com national poll. The Pioneers finished third in the OAC Regular Season.
Despite a quarterfinal defeat in the OAC Tournament, Marietta earned an at-large bid into the NCAA National Tournament and won their first-round matchup against Wittenberg, 65-50. The first-ever national tournament victory in program history.
From staff reports