| A Pioneer senior class has never missed qualifying
for the Division III baseball championships round. Marietta photo by Ryan Coleman |
By Jim Dixon
D3sports.com
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. -- Marietta can start bragging. Considered one of the top programs in Division III baseball, they now have the hardware to prove it. Marietta won a record fifth baseball championship with a 18-5 win over the Chapman Panthers.
"We consider ourselves to be the best Division III baseball program in the country, and now that we have more than anyone else, I guess we can brag a little bit more," said Marietta coach Brian Brewer.
Marietta's previous championships
"We respect everybody but it’s nice to get five. It’s an experience in itself. It’s special for the Marietta College baseball fraternity, alumni, family, friends, supporters of the program, but right now it’s really special for this group of guys, this group of young men, and our current supporters. We’re going to celebrate it, hopefully for a couple days, and the fraternity will be happy."
The Pioneers had been tied with Eastern Connecticut, which won four national titles, in 1982, 1990, 1998 and 2002.
This was Marietta's record 21st appearance in the final round but the Pioneers had not earned a trip to the championship round in the previous three years and this trip was the first for the reigning Marietta senior class.
"If anything, it (the fact that a Marietta senior class has never missed the Championships) was motivation," said Marietta senior outfielder John Snyder. "I think the last two, three years we’ve had a team that’s capable of making it here, so for us it was more of going out and executing and let the chips fall where they may a lot of times. It was really nice to get here my senior year, and my last shot at getting here."
Marietta is the second number one ranked team in the D3baseball.com Top 25 to come into Appleton and take home the Walnut and Bronze. In 2008 Trinity (Conn.) were national champions as they entered the tournament with the top ranking.
"We like to think we carry that target the entire year, but we had something to prove this year, we came in as the No. 1 team and people wanted to see us play like the No. 1 team in the nation and I think we did that."
It was not as easy for Marietta on championship Tuesday. Over the past four days, the Pioneers looked dominant, winning by large margins. With the D3baseball.com pitcher of the year ready and Chapman's ace unable to play, it looked as if the Pioneers would cruise to the title.
After the first game of the day it looked like Chapman had the
momentum on its side, however. The Panthers put the leadoff runner
on base in each of the first sixth innings and scored eight runs
before Marietta was on the board. Brian Gasser did not look
like the D3baseball.com pitcher of the year as he allowed eight
hits for a season-high eight runs allowed. In a four-run third and
a three-run fifth, Pioneer errors would give Chapman extra at-bats
and they took advantage of the largess. A five-run eighth for the
Panthers erased any doubt whether there would be a game 15.
Through the first two innings it was a 2-1 Marietta lead and any
momentum that Chapman had had evaporated. In the third, Marietta
took advantage of two Chapman miscues and sent 12 men to the plate
to take control of the game, taking a 9-1 lead. The Pioneers would
continue to pile up runs with seven in the next three innings to
put the game out of reach. Marietta starter Austin Blaski sparkled
on the mound, allowing two hits and just one run (earned) in his
six innings.