MARIETTA, Ohio — Widener arrived in Marietta earlier in the week as one of the biggest unknowns of the 2014 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional.

The Pride (33-11), who are seeded fourth, have shown off stellar pitching and an aggressive style of play that has coach Mike LaRosa's team sitting well after knocking off top-seeded Marietta 5-4 at Don Schaly Stadium on a brisk Saturday morning.

"It was a back-and-forth game, but that's exactly what you expect in a regional game like this," LaRosa said.

After winning their ninth one-run game of the season, the Pride will play the winner of Case Western Reserve and Salisbury at 11 a.m. Sunday.

"It was exactly what we expected. Marietta is an outstanding team," LaRosa said. "We felt like if we could keep it close that we're pretty good at close ball games. … If it's a one-run or two-run game we seem to figure out a way to win."

Widener's pitching has been the story of the regional so far.

Senior Colin Weiss (8-0), the Commonwealth Conference Pitcher of the Year, delivered a big-game performance for the Pride. He allowed eight hits and struck out six for the complete-game win.

"I was very excited to pitch today after sitting around the hotel for two days," said Weiss, who last pitched in a 7-5 win over Messiah on May 2. "I was throwing all of pitches for strikes and attacking the zone with them. Just being able to attack the strike zone with all of my pitches helped me keep them off balance."

LaRosa said there was never any doubt that Weiss would pitch the entire game. He noted on April 18 that Weiss threw 11 innings in a 4-1 victory over Elizabethtown.

"When he gets the ball he's a guy who wants to go the whole game. At this point of the season he's well extended," LaRosa said. "Once he starts the game we have confidence he's going to finish it. We know he's going to battle and keep us in the game and put us in a position to win."

Weiss pitched out of a potential big inning in the fifth. The Pioneers plated one run when Dylan Gracia singled to left scoring Tim McCoy. But with runners on first and second and no out, Weiss threw Gracia out at third on Christian Demko's attempted sacrifice bunt. Weiss then struck out Mitch Geers and got Josh Ungerbuehler to fly out to left.

In the sixth, Marietta added another run to tie the game at 4, but a Pioneer gamble may have cost them another score. With one out and a full count on Gracia, Marietta had runners Tyler Packanik and Tim McCoy steal. But Gracia struck out and Packanik was thrown out at third to end the inning.

Widener responded in the bottom of the inning by scoring the go-ahead and eventual winning run. Justin Healey led off with a single and advanced to second on Sam Christie's sacrifice bunt. With two out, freshman Michael Elfreth singled to right scoring Healey.

Elfreth, who finished the game 4-for-4 with two runs, said the Pride have been confident all season they could play on the biggest stage.

"We knew we had the potential to be here and 2-0 in the winner's bracket is a great feeling," he said. "We have two more games left to be where we want to be."

Elfreth set the tone for the game in the first inning when he led off the game with a bunt single.

"Before the game started it was in the game plan. If a lefty's on the mound we want to use push bunts," he said.

The Pride pushed across three runs in the first frame against Marietta starter Jason Byers (10-2), who gave up 13 hits over eight innings. Widener also plated a run in the second inning.

Healey added three hits and two RBI in the win, while Nicholas Enos and Michael Riverso had two hits each.

Marietta will be back in action Saturday against Thomas More (24-18) at 4:30 p.m. The Pioneers' Ryan Hanahan sparked the offense early with a triple in the second inning that led to two runs. He also finished 3-for-4, while Chris Winpigler went 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs.

"We had some opportunities that we didn't make the most of and against a quality opponent it's going to cost you," Marietta coach Brian Brewer said. "They made a couple more plays than we did and came out on top."

Saturday's contest was just the third time Marietta (30-15) had faced Widener. The two programs played in the 1977 NCAA Mideast Regional hosted by the College of Wooster. Widener won the first meeting 7-1, which forced a winner-take-all championship game that Marietta won 3-2 in 12 innings.