Pioneers in OAC title tilt

Marietta to face The Berg at noon Saturday

By Zach Baker, Special to The Times
TIFFIN — Marietta players were hesitant to say they had Heidelberg's number.

“You have to play a good amount of baseball games against each other to say you have their number,” said Pioneers catcher Danny Jones, who had three hits, scored two runs and had an RBI in his team's 8-4 win over Heidelberg Friday.

But Marietta (23-18), which improved to 3-0 against the Student Princes this season, has showed an almost-dominance over the regular season Ohio Athletic Conference champion.

Marietta hit Heidelberg starting pitcher David Paddock hard, getting him for two runs in the second inning and three runs in the third. Though Heidelberg rallied for four in the third, the Pioneers never trailed.

Chris Stewart (7-2) started for the Pioneers, going 4 2/3 innings and leaving with a 6-4 lead. All four of Heidelberg's runs against him were earned. Nate Eschbaugh relieved, and though he had to pitch out of a few jams (Heidelberg had runners at first and second with one out in the eighth), he kept the Student Princes scoreless for 3 1/3 innings.

Eschbaugh allowed two hits and two walks, and didn't strike out a batter. But even though Heidelberg's hitters made contact, they could not string anything together.

Eschbaugh gave way to Justin Merryman in the ninth, who pitched a perfect inning to close the game.

“Nate did an excellent job coming in, and then Justin in the last inning,” said Marietta coach Brian Brewer. “Both those guys came out and executed the game plan.”

Eschbaugh said his success was all about location.

“It was more just a part of keeping the ball down, and trying to get guys to roll the ball to the infield,” he said. “We had a couple big plays, double plays, and great defense behind me.”

Paddock (5-3) ended up recovering to pitch 8 1/3 innings for the Student Princes, allowing 10 hits and six earned runs. Marietta designated hitter Tom DeAngelis led the attack with a pair of hits and a team-leading two RBIs. Tony Piconke, Tyler Penwell, Brennan Cribbins and Josh Spicer all added an RBI.

“We have a bit of a scouting report on (Paddock); he's thrown against us quite a bit over the last couple years,” Brewer said. “So, we have a little bit of a pattern on him, we think, and we communicate that with our hitters.”

The Heidelberg (34-8) offense was paced by Matt Grassley, who had a two-run double in the four-run third inning. Gar Keen and Cody James also had an RBI.

The win sets up Marietta (23-18) for today's tournament final against Heidelberg at noon. Should the Pioneers win the first game, they will take the tournament and gain an automatic bid to the Division III regionals. If Marietta loses, it will be forced into a second game, with the winner advancing.

Marietta 8, Heidelberg 4

Marietta 023 100 002 - 8-12-0

Heidelberg 004 000 000 - 4-10-1

Top hitters: Marietta - Britt Meador 2-4; Danny Jones 3-5, RBI; Tom DeAngelis 2-4, 2 RBIs; Brennan Cribbins 3-5, RBI. Heidelberg - Jeremy Wentworth 2-5, 2B; Andrew Buelow 2-4, 2B; Cody James 2-4, 2B, RBI; Jason Lash 1-2; Matt Grassley 1-3, 2B, 2 RBIs.

Pitching: Marietta -Chris Stewart (W, 7-2) 4.2ip, 8h, 4r, 4er, 1w, 1so; Nate Eschbaugh 3.1ip, 2h, 0r, 2w, 0so; Justin Merryman 1ip, 0h, 0r, 0w, 1so. Heidelberg - David Paddock (L, 5-3) 8.1ip, 10h, 7r, 6er, 3w, 4so; Steve Calevro 0.2ip, 2h, 1r, 1er, 2w, 1so.

Otterbein 5, Mount Union 3

Otterbein 003 110 000 - 5-8-2

Mount Union 002 000 010 - 3-9-1

Top hitters: Otterbein - Carl Edwards 1-5, 2 RBIs; Pat Connor 2-3, 2B; Brandon Mauck 1-3; Dan Lassak 1-5, HR, RBI. Mount Union -Craig Knott 2-4, 2B, 2 RBIs; Andy Warner 2-4.

Pitching: Otterbein - Doug Stevens (W, 5-2) 9ip, 9h, 3r, 1er, 0w, 3so. Mount Union - Brett Thomas (L, 4-3) 4.2ip, 5h, 5r, 5er, 2w, 1so.

Heidelberg 9, Otterbein 4

Heidelberg 100 000 134 - 9-14-0

Otterbein 003 001 000 - 4-10-3

Top hitters: Heidelberg - Jeremy Wentworth 2-4; Gar Keen 3-5, RBI; Matt Grassley 2-4; Biagio Boytim 3-5, RBI; Alex Monroe 1-2, 2 RBIs; Willie Brechun 3-5, 2B, 2 RBIs. Otterbein - Chris Kovanda 3-5; John Sansbury 1-4, 2B, 2 RBIs; Aaron Hutchison 2-4; Brandon Mauck 1-1, 2B, RBI; Brian Hiscox 1-3, 2B.

Pitching: Heidelberg - Jake Gossman 6.2ip, 8h, 4r, 4er, 4w, 5so; Andy Lowe (W, 5-0) 2.1ip, 2h, 0r, 0w, 2so. Otterbein - Jeremy Williams 7ip, 8h, 4r, 4er, 4w, 0so; J. J. Mathews (L, 1-5) 0.1ip, 2h, 1r, 1er, 0w, 0so; Michael Taylor 1.2ip, 4h, 4r, 0er, 0w, 2so.