MARIETTA, Ohio — Just a few days ago, Misericordia coach Pete Egbert wasn't sure which pitcher he would call on to start the NCAA Division III Marietta Super Regional.
 
Egbert made the right choice in senior David McCurry, who gave up six hits and allowed two runs in six innings of work as the Cougars defeated Marietta 8-3 at Don and Sue Schaly Field on Friday afternoon.
 
"More than anything it came down to who had more rest. Joe Valenti pitched twice this past weekend and he was kind of running on short rest and some of our other guys got extended more than they have been," Egbert said. "David pitched on Saturday and he probably had the most rest. … He's a senior and deserved the opportunity to be there in this spot. I knew he wasn't going to be rattled by it. He came out and had a real nice sharp first inning and I think that set the tone for us on the mound."
 
McCurry improved to 7-1 by commanding his three pitches — fastball, curveball and changeup.
 
"We always talk about win the first one, so I knew I had to be sharp today," said McCurry, a first team All-MAC Freedom selection. "I felt good with all three of my pitches (fastball, curveball and changeup) in the pen. Honestly, in the first inning I was locating all pitches pretty well. I knew from there on out that I would be pretty dominant."
 
Marietta coach Brian Brewer was impressed with Misericordia's pitchers.
 
"(McCurry) was good," Brewer said. "He plopped the curveball in there. He got out in front. That's some of the mistakes I made. We probably should have been a little more aggressive early in the counts, especially when we were up 1-0. The kid on the back end was just as impressive."
 
Valenti tossed the final three innings, allowing one run to pick up his second save of the season.
 
"It certainly wasn't mistake free, but we took a few innings to figure out their guy. We had some guys on base and some opportunities early and then finally broke through," Egbert said. "Our guys have been through a variety of things over the years, and we're a pretty veteran club. I don't think they are really scared of anything or intimidated by anything."
 
Marietta (38-12) actually scored first, though, in the bottom of the third when Nick Bonnizzio scored from first on Alex Richter's triple to right.
 
Misericordia bounced back with a clutch four-run inning off Marietta starter Trent Valentine, who took the loss and dropped to 7-1 on the season.
 
Brady Madden grounded a 3-1 pitch up the middle to open the inning and advance to third on Joe Comins' single over first base. The Pioneers helped the Cougars in the inning when Connor Maryniak bounced a ball to Bonnizzio at third and Madden beat the tag as both raced to the bag.
 
Bonnizzio tried to throw to first and get Maryniak, but his errant throw allowed both runners to score and Maryniak reached third. Brendan Gray followed with a slow grounder to Matthew Busby at shortstop and Maryniak beat the throw home — giving Misericordia a 3-1 lead.
 
The Bobcats' offense wasn't done. Jason Sanfilippo blooped a single to right center and Jack Regenye closed out the big inning with a ground out that scored Gray.
 
"It feels like we had more than one error. While some of them may not have been physical, we made mental errors on top of that," Brewer said. "I just didn't think we played real well. We had some critical mistakes, and I had more mistakes than anybody. Tough loss. One that we have to bounce back from. We have to win one game tomorrow. We have to put all of our energy into playing better tomorrow."
 
Down 4-1, Marietta added a run in the sixth and another in eighth — trailing 4-3 going into the final frame.
 
However, Misericordia rallied for another big four-run inning to erase any thoughts of a Pioneer comeback.
 
Brady Madden got things going for the Cougars by lining a single down the left field line and moved up on a sacrifice bunt. Maryniak's single to right put runners on the corners before Gray was intentionally walked to load the bases.
 
Sanfilippo responded by belting the first pitch from Gino Sabatine to left center, giving the Cougars a 6-3 lead. Marietta lifted Sabatine for Forrest Havanis, who intentionally walked Garrett McIlhenney — the third time Marietta gave him a free pass.
 
Catcher Brock Bollinger, who went 3 for 6, singled through the left side for two more runs.
 
"Emotions ran really high there. We feed off each other. Jason gets a big hit and I have to step up and get another two-out hit and that's what I did," Bollinger said.
 
Brewer said Marietta was doing everything it could to limit the damage McIlhenney could do on offense, and that is why they intentionally walked him three times.
 
"He's their best guy. It's not just getting a hit here or there. It's everything else he does," Brewer said. "He's got great wheels. He applies all kinds of pressure and we wanted to try to keep that pressure to a minimum."
 
Madden went 3 for 5 with two runs, while Comins, Maryniak, Gray and Sanfilippo each had two hits.
 
Marietta's Ty Davis and Cole Rieman each had two hits, while Matthew Green drove in two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly.
 
The Cougars (38-13) are now one victory away from reaching their first NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, which starts Friday, June 2, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
 
"We know we're not there yet," Egbert said. "This is a very good ballclub. They are resilient, they are extremely athletic, they're talented and they have plenty of pitching left. We're in their territory, so by no means is this over. It feels good to win the first one, but our guys are going to come out and compete tomorrow."