WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Marietta College is in the driver's seat at the 2016 Ohio Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament after knocking off top-seeded Otterbein University by a 13-8 score Friday (May 13) morning at Fishbaugh Field on the Otterbein campus.

"It was a tightly contested game and you can't relax against an offensive line up like that," Marietta head coach Brian Brewer said. "They're really good offensively and they certainly never rolled over. The game was a lot closer than the score indicated really at every point from innings 1 through 9."

The Pioneers advance into Saturday's noon championship game while the other three teams battle it out in the loser's bracket. Marietta improves to 27-15 on the season and is making its 28th appearance in the title game in the 32 years of the current four-team, double elimination format.

Otterbein falls to 32-10 on the season and will play Baldwin Wallace, a 6-5 winner over John Carroll in Friday's second game, later this afternoon for the right to face Marietta in the championship on Saturday.

After yesterday's 1-0 victory, the Pioneers broke out the bats against Otterbein. Marietta banged out 21 hits, equaling its second-best total of the season. Leading 2-1 through the first three innings, the Etta Express got rolling and scored in each of its last six at bats to take a 13-3 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth inning.

Otterbein, with the OAC's most potent offense, refused to go away quietly. The Cardinals sent 11 batters to the plate in the ninth scoring five runs and leaving the bases loaded when the game ended.

"Today was a great learning opportunity and we won. Usually with learning opportunities you come out on the opposite end of it," Brewer said. "We stress to our guys that every run counts, every run is important. Every pitch is important regardless of the score."

Marietta grabbed the early lead when Brandon Papp delivered a two-out, two-run single in the second inning. Eric White received a one-out walk and Connor Golden followed with a single through the right side of the infield. After a pop up for the second out of the inning, Chandler Palyas walked to load the bases. Papp then singled through the hole at shortstop scoring White and Golden.

Otterbein answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the frame from Christian Chiero.

Chris Petrucci made it 3-1 with a little two-out magic in the fourth. Palyas struck out but reach base when the pitch got away from the catcher, moved to second on a fielder's choice and scored on Petrucci's base hit.

Once again the Cardinals responded with the long ball. Jake Simmerman stroked the first pitch he saw over the left field wall to start the home half of the fourth inning. Marietta starter Tommy Crowl beaned the next batter and then a base hit bunt and throwing error gave Otterbein runners at second and third with no outs.

Chiero was the next Cardinal batter and he laced a sharp ground ball back up the box but Crowl gloved it and threw to first for the out. Crowl whiffed the next two Cardinals to get out of the inning without allowing any more Otterbein runs.

"We tell our guys that you have to minimize the damage and Tommy did a really good job of that in the fourth," Brewer said. "Otterbein is very good, but especially, they're a really good big-inning club."

Crowl (5-3) threw 5 2/3 innings for the win. He gave up two runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts. David Stover notched his fifth save of the season working the final 3 1/3 innings. Stover was charged with six runs on eight hits.

Five different Cardinals pitched in the game with starter Craig Prince (5-2) taking the loss. Prince threw 4 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on seven base hits. He walked four and struck out three.

Holding Otterbein in the fourth seemed to breathe new life into the Pioneer offense. Marietta scored one in the fifth, two in the sixth and seventh, three in the eighth and added a couple more in the ninth building a 13-3 lead.

Mike Hale led off Marietta's three-run eighth inning with a towering home run to left-center field. It was his second home run of the season and he finished the day 3-for-6 with three runs scored.

"I wasn't expecting it," Hale said. "I was just trying to get on base and he threw a high fastball."

Golden led the Pioneer attack with four hits in six at bats. He scored twice and drove in a pair of runs.

"I was seeing the ball really well today but I had a couple Texas Leaguers go my way," said Golden. "We saw him (Prince) during the regular season and knew he is a fastball guy with a good curveball. So we hunted the fastball early and got a lot of first pitch hits."

In addition to Hale and Golden, Greg Peffley was 3-for-6, while Petrucci, White, Palyas and Papp had two hits apiece.