Written by: Zachary Worstell (zdw001@marietta.edu)
The Marietta College Baseball team invited five teams into Don and Sue Schaly Field and played four of them over the course of the past five days for the annual BSN Sports Invitational.
They played Johnson & Wales University, Case Western, Ithaca College, and Spalding University. A matchup with Wittenberg was not scheduled as they will play one another later this month on March 26th.
Marietta started off the season in North Carolina where the team went 1-2 against their ranked opponents. The losses came to #15 ranked SUNY Cortland with a score of 11-4 and to the #9 University of Lynchburg with a final score of 4-3. The 9-1 win for the Pios came over #11 Christopher Newport.
The Pioneers followed this trip with a home opener double header series against Wilson College. Marietta came from behind and took the first game 3-2 and then had an offensive stride in the second game defeating the Phoenix 8-4.
The Etta Express kicked off Spring Break with a trip down to Mount Berry, Georgia. Marietta earned a 5-3 win over LaGrange College in their first game. This was followed by a double header series against host Berry College. The Vikings swept the Pioneers winning 10-2 and 11-8.
The Pios resumed their Spring Break at home hosting North Central College for a series before the BSN Sports Invitational. In the first game the Cardinals started off hot taking a 6-3 lead, however Etta scored four in the eighth inning for their first lead. However, NC returned the favor completing the bases four times in the ninth. Coincidentally, a triple in the bottom of the ninth led the Pios to score four more and take home a 11-10 win. The Pioneers continued this momentum beating the Cardinals 8-4 in their second matchup. This left them with a 6-4 record before the invitational.
Marietta kicked off the invitational with a close win over Johnson & Wales University. The Wildcats started out with a 2-0 lead however Marietta with one in the fifth and two in the eighth regained the lead. Although, the Wildcats tied up the game in the top of the ninth at 3-3. In the bottom of the ninth, with bases loaded, JWU closer Garrett Fusco walked a batter and gave Marietta the 4-3 win.
The second game for Marietta came against Ithaca. The Pios began the game with a pair of doubles resulting in a 3-0 lead. This was enough for the win as starter Austin Ziance stayed in for seven innings only allowing three hits and one run, helping the Pios win 4-1.
The next game was close at first as Case Western hit two solo home runs in the first which Marietta matched with a wild pitch. The Etta Express was able to get the lead in the third and ran away with the game when relief Forrest Havanis came in to stop the bleeding. Marietta’s bats stayed consistent throughout the game giving the Pios a 10-3 win over the Spartans.
Marietta’s last two games of the invitational were with the Spalding Golden Eagles. Unfortunately, both games did not go in Marietta’s favor. For the first game Marietta freshmen Reece Rupert got his first start of his career after Spalding had lost to Wittenberg. However, the Eagles were warmed up and Rupert gave up seven runs in four innings. Four relief pitchers came in but were unable to save the game as the Eagles beat the Pioneers 14-2.
The second game was much of the same as the Pios gave up seven runs in the first inning. The bullpen was unable to stop the bleeding as the Golden Eagles won the final game of the invitational 17-1.
This puts the Etta Express at 9-6 on the season. This Wednesday the team travels to Pennsylvania to play Washington & Johnson. This weekend Marietta is back home starting off their conference play as they host Mount Union on Saturday March 22nd at 4:00 p.m.
