ADA, Ohio — The No. 15 ranked Etta Express continued to roll sweeping an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader on the road at Ohio Northern University Saturday (March 20) afternoon. Marietta posted 13-1 and 10-1 win victories over the Polar Bears.
Marietta improves to 6-0 overall and 6-0 in the OAC. The Pioneers have scored in double figures in all six games this season and have outscored their opponents 90-10. Ohio Northern falls to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the OAC.
The Pioneers jumped on top in game one with two runs in the first inning. Turner Hill reached on a one-out infield single and moved to third on a double from Damian Yenzi. Zach Boyd, the reigning OAC Hitter of the Week, followed with a two-run single up the middle.
After plating a pair of unearned runs in the third inning, Marietta added three more runs in the fourth. Brady Cottom led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Drew Wilkinson. Jared Weiss walked and then a passed ball allowed both runners to move up one base.
Hill followed with a single through the right side of the infield scoring Cottom and moving Weiss to third. The Pioneers pulled off a double steal with Weiss scoring and Hill taking second base. Boyd then delivered an RBI double plating Hill for a 7-1 lead.
Wilkinson added a two-run single in the fifth. Dylan Albright and Cottom each picked up an RBI in the sixth.
While the offense was firing on all cylinders with 13 runs on 16 base hits, starting pitcher Gino Sabatine (2-0) was dominating the Polar Bear hitters. He threw 7.0 innings and gave up one run on eight hits, Sabatine walked one and struck out six. Kail Hill threw the final 2.0 innings and gave up two hits with two walks and one strikeout.
Nate Bye (0-1) started on the mound for ONU and took the loss. He worked 5.0 innings and gave up nine runs, four earned, on 11 hits. Bye walked two and struck out one. Three other Polar Bears pitched in relief.
After going 3-for-4 in game one, Boyd was a perfect 4-for-4 in the night cap leading a 12-hit Pioneer attack. Marietta scored three in the third and three more in fifth to take control of the game. The Pioneers added one run in each of the final four innings form the 10-1 win.
Nicklaus Brown (2-0) started and worked 6.0 innings for the win. He allowed one run on six hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Isaac Danford pitched 2.0 perfect innings striking out two and Mitchell Louis worked the ninth inning.
Turner Hill was 3-for-4 a double and three runs scored. Logan Vietmeier and Trent Castle each had two hits in the game for the Pioneers.
Alex Dodson (1-1) started and was tagged with the loss for ONU. He threw 5.0 innings and gave up six runs, three earned, on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Kaidan Domer, Cole Millhime and Andrew Loewe each pitched in relief for the Polar Bears.
Marietta hosts Ohio Northern for a doubleheader on Sunday (March 21). First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.