Congratulations to the Marietta College Pioneers baseball team for its excellent play at this weekend's NCAA?Division III Regional tournament.
Marietta, 43-7, won the tournament Sunday with a clutch 7-3 victory over Manchester (Ind.). Marietta forced Sunday's game by continuing to win through the loser's bracket of the eight-team tournament including two elimination games Friday and two more on Saturday.
Marietta handed Manchester its first loss in the tournament Saturday afternoon, forcing Sunday's showdown.
Now, Marietta has earned a return trip to the NCAA Division III World Series at Fox Cities Stadium in Grande Chute, Wis.
The Pioneers are on a mission like no other team at the tournament. That's because Marietta is defending its 2011 national championship. They have displayed a knack for timely hitting, top-notch fielding, heady running, and pitching quality and depth seldom seen on the Division III level.
The Pioneers have displayed their skills throughout the season, first by winning the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title, then taking the OAC tournament crown. Turns out all those games were a bit of a warm-up for this weekend's Regional tournament when the Pioneers showed gritty determination on the utmost of confidence.
Good luck to Coach Brian Brewer and his talented staff and players. All of the Marietta area and anyone with ties to the Marietta College campus are pulling for a repeat of last year's ultimate success.
