MARIETTA, Ohio -- An eight-run fourth inning allowed the 16th ranked Marietta College Pioneers to defeat the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team by a 12-4 score Wednesday afternoon in NCAA Division III baseball action at Don and Sue Schaly Field at Pioneer Park in Ohio. 

The loss drops the Presidents' record to 14-9 overall. The Pioneers improve to 17-6 in 2023. 

Marietta opened the scoring with a two-run home run by Ty Davis in the bottom of the first inning. W&J the deficit in half with a run in the top of the fourth. 

However, the host Pioneers scored eight runs on seven hits in the bottom half of the fourth to swell its lead to a commanding 10-1 margin. 

Marietta added two more runs in the seventh on a ground-rule double to extend the lead to 12-1. 

W&J closed the scoring with a three-run home run by Joe Lehner (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) in the top of the eighth inning. The home run is the team-leading fourth of the season for Lehner, who was playing in his home state of Ohio. Lehner has homered in consecutive games and three times this week. He finished with a pair of hits and a pair of runs scored. 

Ben Pierce (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) started and suffered the loss. He allowed two unearned runs on one hit in 3.0 innings of work. Brandon Bastian (Barto, Pa./The Hill School) and Mason Kolbe (Bradenton, Fla./Out-of-Door Academy) combined to work three scoreless innings of relief. 

W&J travels to Chatham University for a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 8. Start time for the twinbill is scheduled for 1 p.m. at West Field in Munhall, Pa.