MARIETTA, Ohio — The #8 Etta Express held off a late rally from visiting Piedmont College to win its eighth straight with a 7-5 victory Saturday (March 19) afternoon at the Southeast Ohio Invitational. [Box Score]

Marietta College (12-1) finished with 10 hits and overcame four errors in the win. The Lions (12-9) collected 12 hits and made one error in the loss.

Junior Tim Saunders (Alliance/Alliance) paced Marietta's offensive attack, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Sophomore Aaron Hopper (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg) added two hits and three RBI in four at-bats, while senior Casey Levens (Dayton/Centerville) was also 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Curtis Cornett led Piedmont with four hits in five at-bats. Kyle Davis, Josh Bailey and Ethan Miers all added a pair of hits in the game.

Junior Brian Gasser (New Philadelphia/Indian Valley) improved to 4-0 on the season after scattering one unearned run on six hits and a walk while striking out five in six innings. Junior Kyle Lindquist (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) pitched the ninth and struck out two to record his fifth save of the season.

Caleb Cochran (1-3) took the loss after allowing seven runs (four earned) on 10 hits in five and one-third innings.

Piedmont took a 1-0 advantage by scoring an unearned run of Gasser in the fourth.

The Pioneers, however, gained the lead for good when four runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the fourth frame. Levens tied the game with a RBI ground out. He then scored the go-ahead run when sophomore Braden Park (Oxford/Talawanda) reached on a fielding error. Saunders followed with a RBI triple, while Hopper delivered a run-scoring single.

Marietta padded its lead with a three-run sixth. Saunders drove in the first run with a single, while Hopper picked up the two other RBI with a double.

The Lions clawed back into the game with a four-run eighth. Three of the four runs were unearned as a Pioneer fielding error extended the inning. Davis had a big two-run single in the rally.

Lindquist then came in to close the door by retiring three of the five hitters he faced in the final inning.

Marietta closes out the Southeast Ohio Invitational at 2:30 p.m. Sunday (March 20) when it takes on Thiel College.