MARIETTA, Ohio – Marietta expected sophomore pitcher Christian Herstine to play a major role in the Pioneers opening game of the 2014 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional.

Sophomore outfielder Dylan Gracia wasn't even sure if he'd get to play.

In the end, they both came up big for the top-seeded Pioneers (30-14) as Marietta rolled to a 14-2 victory over Penn State-Berks at Don Schaly Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

"I just like the opportunity to go out there and compete every day, and Coach (Brian) Brewer gave me a chance today," said Gracia, who was hitting .226 entering the tournament. "I've been working hard in the cages and found my rhythm."

Gracia didn't let the opportunity slip by as he went 4-for-5 with four RBI, a double and one run. One of hits was a big, two-out single in the first inning that helped Marietta jump out to a 3-0 lead.

"It would have been big to get out of that first inning without any runs," said PSU-Berks coach Justin Konnick. "You can't give (Marietta) an inch because they'll take a foot."

Marietta finished with 15 hits, including multiple hits from junior Ryan Hanahan (3-for-5 with one RBI), junior Chris Winpigler (3-for-5 with our RBI) and sophomore Tyler Packanik (2-for-4 with two RBI).

The Pioneers didn't pull away until a four-run fifth inning, which was highlighted by Winpigler's two-run single. Marietta tacked on six runs in the eighth inning off two relievers — Erik Lanzner and Tylor Bair — that made the final score look even worse.

"They should expect to go out and play better than they did. They are a better team than that," Konnick said. "It's almost like they got off the bus tired today and there's no reason for it. We've played better baseball than that and we can play better baseball than that."

PSU-Berks scored a run in the sixth inning when the Nittany Lions loaded the bases with one out, but only managed one run when Kyle Rissmiller scored on Tom Grablewski's sacrifice fly to right. PSU-Berks added another run in the seventh when Ryan Tantala led off with a double and scored on Phil Anderson's sacrifice fly.

The Nittany Lions (19-20) will face La Roche (30-14) at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in a loser's bracket game. Konnick has higher expectations for his team when they return to Don Schaly Stadium.

"I expect more out of them. We should be a different baseball team tomorrow," he said.

Brewer was pleased with what he saw out of Marietta, especially after a lackluster showing in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament last weekend when the Pioneers went 1-2.

"You have to focus on the positives and get off the negatives. First thing you have to do is acknowledge we played like crap last week. And we did and everyone understands that," he said. "By understanding that we realize we have the ability to play better."

Brewer was most pleased with the performances of Gracia and freshman reliever Mitch McNabb, who threw a perfect inning of relief. Of course, Herstine's showing was what Brewer thought he'd get from the OAC's Kent Tekulve Pitcher of the Year.

"He's come up big all year. I don't think he was quite as efficient as he could have been and his (velocity) was down a bit," Brewer said. "When you put the conference Pitcher of the Year out there this is what we have come to expect."

Herstine, who allowed four hits and two runs, while striking out nine over seven innings, was satisfied to get the win but said he wasn't throwing his best.

"The curveball didn't really show up until the fifth inning, so it was nice that our team just kept on hitting and adding on runs. It's easy to pitch when your team is backing you up like that," he said. "We wanted to come out and show everybody what we can do."

Marietta will face Widener (32-11) in the winner's bracket at 4:30 p.m., Thursday.