MARIETTA, Ohio – The No. 6 ranked Marietta College Pioneers put on an impressive offensive display Wednesday (April 10) evening as the Etta Express defeated Muskingum University 7-1 and 21-0 in Ohio Athletic Conference baseball action.
Marietta improves to 17-6 overall and 7-1 in the OAC. Muskingum falls to 4-18 on the season and 3-5 in league play.
While the Pioneer offense was exploding for 28 runs on 28 base hits, the pitching staff limited the Fighting Muskies to a single run on just seven base hits.
Senior catcher Alex Toth led the attack in the first game going 3-for-4 with two doibles and a triple. Toth scored twice and drove in a pair of runs. Freshman right fielder Tim McCoy was 2-for-2 with a double and a triple, while senior left fielder Jordan Grilliot had a pair of singles.
Marietta scored two runs in the second and third innings for a 4-0 lead. The Pioneers pushed the lead to 7-0 with three more runs in the fifth.
Freshman Jason Byers (3-1) went the distance on the mound working 7.0 innings. He gave up one run on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
Junior Colten Maxwell (2-4) took the loss. Maxwell allowed seven runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings of work. He walked four Pioneers and struck out one. Freshman Jeremy Jenkins tossed 1.1 innings of shutout relief.
The Etta Express was just getting warmed up in game one. Marietta collected 18 hits in the nightcap including four triples and three home runs, doubling the team total for round-trippers on the season.
Marietta got the ball rolling with four runs in the bottom of the first. Junior designated hitter Josh Ungerbuehler drove in two with a triple into the right center gap.
Grilliot and Toth broke out the long ball in the second inning. Grilliot hit a solo homer to right, while Toth's was a solo shot to left giving Marietta a 6-0 lead.
Senior center fielder Aaron Hopper delivered a bases-loaded triple to cap a four-run third inning.
Grilliot struck again in the fifth clearing the fence in right center for his second solo shot of the game. The Pioneers would score five runs in the inning as senior third baseman Bryan Gregorich drove in three runs with a triple into the gap.
Marietta's bench took over in the later innings and added two runs in the sixth and four more in the eighth. Sophomore Evan Oyler knocked in two runs with a double in the eighth.
With the offense firing on all cylinders, senior Mike Mulvey (5-2) was stifling the Muskie bats, Mulvey threw 7.0 innings and scattered four hits. He struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Freshman Jordan Carithers pitched the eighth, while sophomore Anthony Knittel worked the ninth.
Muskingum used five pitchers in the game. Starter Austin Miller (0-4) took the loss. Miller was charged with 10 runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings of work. He walked two and struck out three.
Grilliot, senior Evan Brockmeier, Toth, sophomore Chris Winpigler, Ungerbuehler and Gregorich each had two hits in the game.
The Pioneers travel to Tiffin on Saturday (April 13) for a doubleheader at Heidelberg University. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.