WASHINGTON, Pa. – Drew Garth (Glenshaw, Pa./North Hills) slugged the go-ahead home run and finished with four hits to power the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team to a 9-7 victory over visiting Marietta College in non-conference action Sunday at Ross Memorial Park.
The win improves the Presidents to 19-9 overall. The loss drops the Pioneers to 17-15.
The victory for W&J snapped a four-game skid versus Marietta in the head-to-head series. Sunday's victory is the first for the Presidents over the Pioneers since 2015.
The Presidents scored in each of the first three innings to build a 6-1 lead.
W&J loaded the bases with hits by Garth, Nolan Lutz (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and Joe Lehner (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic). A sac fly by Jake Stiehl (Reston, Va./South Lakes) scored Garth to make it 1-0. Two batters later, Andrew Miko (Portage, Pa./Portage) was hit by a pitch to give W&J a 2-0 lead.
The Red and Black tacked on another run in the second inning. John Klein (Vienna, Va./Madison) singled and scored on an RBI double by Garth to right center.
Marietta got a run back in the top of the third inning. W&J did a good job of limiting the damage, stranding a pair of Pioneers on base.
W&J scored three runs in the third. Brody Bartenstein (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post) singled and moved to third on a double by Miko. RBI singles by Klein and Garth highlighted the inning.
The Pioneers got to the Presidents bullpen and scored twice in the fifth and four times in the sixth to take a 7-6 lead. W&J was able to claw right back in the bottom half of the sixth. A leadoff double by Lutz and moved to third on a wild pitch. Running on contact, Lutz scored on a ground ball which was misplayed, allowing W&J to even the score at 7-7.
W&J broke through in the eighth with a pair of runs which ultimately gave them the victory. Garth led off with a solo home run. His sixth home run of the season gave W&J an 8-7 lead. Lehner singled and stole second before scoring on an RBI single by Bartenstein to give W&J an insurance run.
Garth led the Presidents offensively during the 17-hit attack. Lehner and Klein finished with three hits apiece. Bartenstein and Miko also had multi-hit efforts in the win.
Brendan Cruz (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley) picked up the win in relief. The freshman tossed 3.1 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit. Cruz is 2-1 on the mound this season.
Another first-year pitcher, Bobby Budacki (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton), put together a gutsy effort in his first collegiate start. Budacki worked 4.2 innings and allowed three runs on five hits. Budacki struck out a pair and walked three.
On Deck: W&J continues its busy stretch with a conference doubleheader against Westminster on Tuesday, April 23.