MARIETTA, Ohio – The No. 23 ranked Marietta College Pioneers finished the regular season with a doubleheader split with La Roche College Sunday (May 4) evening at Don Schaly Stadium. The Pioneers took game one, 12-7, while the Redhawks won the nitecap by the score of 5-1. Marietta heads into the postseason with a 28-12 overall record. La Roche is currently 27-13.

In the opener the Pioneers got off to a slow start and trailed 5-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. The Etta Express finally got rolling in the home half of the fifth inning plating five runs. The first three came on a towering home run of the bat of Chris Winpigler. Tim McCoy accounted for the next two with a blast over the wall in right field.

Mitch Geers led off the sixth with a solo shot to center field. In the seventh inning, Ryan Hanahan joined the party with a three-run shot to straight away centerfield that cleared the wall by an easy 20 feet. After the dust settled on the three-inning barrage that saw the Pioneers score 10 runs on nine base hits, Marietta led 11-6.

Marietta used three freshmen on the mound. Tyler Nieberding started and worked 4.2 innings. He gave up five runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. Mitch McNabb (1-0) notched his first career victory with 2.1 innings of one-run relief. He allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one. Kordell Antill allowed a hit and one unearned run in 2.0 innings.

Winpigler finished 3-for-3 with a double, home run and four runs batted in. Hanahan had a double, home run, three runs scored and three RBI, while McCoy went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Geers had two hits including the home run, while Tyler Packanik and Zach Bukiewicz each had two singles.

La Roche junior Tyler Ferguson (9-4) had a dominating performance on the mound in game two. Ferguson retired the first eight batters he faced and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning.  Ferguson pitched 8.0 innings and scattered three hits. He allowed one run and struck out 11, while walking three. Jesse Bauer tossed a perfect ninth inning.

The Redhawks jumped on Marietta starter Jim Luyster for three runs in the first two innings. La Roche added two more in the fifth and led 5-0. Marietta got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Winpigler led off with a single and later scored on a wild pitch.

Luyster (0-3) took the loss. He pitched 4.0 innings and was charged with five runs, three earned, on five hits. Luyster walked two and struck out one. Ray Sowinski, Mike Fulton, Zak janus and Tommy Crowl combined to blank the Redhawks over the last four innings.

Winpigler was the lone Pioneer with two hits in the second game.

Marietta hosts the 2014 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament at Don Schaly Stadium Thursday through Saturday (May 8-10). The No. 1 seeded Pioneers will be joined by No. 2 Heidelberg, No. 3 John Carroll and No. 4 Baldwin Wallace. The schedule for Thursday features Marietta and Baldwin Wallace at 1:00 p.m. followed by Heidelberg and John Carroll at 4:00 p.m.