Ryan Dennick Pitcher Chapman Univ.

Jarrod Klausman First Base Marietta College

Patrick Ohail First Base Chapman Univ.

Justing Steranka Third Base Marietta College

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The Marietta College (Ohio) baseball team was as hot as the weather Sunday night at Fox Cities Stadium.

With temperatures hovering around an unseasonably steamy 90 degrees, the Pioneers pounded out 15 hits and rolled to a 10-4 victory over Chapman University (Calif.) in a winner’s bracket game at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

“To go deep in one of these tournaments you have to get hot at the right time,” Marietta College head coach Brian Brewer said. “We’re hot right now.”

The Pioneers roughed up Chapman University’s vaunted pitching staff, which entered the tournament with a 2.57 earned run average. Marietta College is now 3-for-3 in its appearances at Fox Cities Stadium, as the Pioneers reached the finals for the third time in three trips to Wisconsin.

Marietta College (42-11) gets a day off and will face whoever survives Monday’s two elimination games. Chapman University (33-12) plays at 3:30 p.m. on Monday against the winner of the noon game between Montclair State University (N.J.) and Wheaton College (Mass.). The title game is set for 1 p.m. on Tuesday, and whoever survives Monday’s games will need to beat Marietta College twice to win the title in this double-elimination format.

Marietta College’s Ryan Belanger started the game with a bang by pounding the game’s first pitch from Billy Sulentor over the left field fence for a 1-0 Pioneers lead.

The Panthers came right back in the bottom of the first against Marietta College starter Ryan Dennick. Two walks, a fielder’s choice and a hit batsman loaded the bases and Patrick Ohail delivered a two-run double to put Chapman University up 2-1.

“We were squirming a little bit,” Brewer said of that first inning. “It was like, oh, no, here we go again.”

Dennick settled down to strike out Steven Fraser and got Kyle Redding to ground out to end the inning. Over the next five innings, Dennick, who improved to 8-2 on the season, allowed only two runners to get as far as second base.

Chapman University held that 2-1 lead until the fourth when Jarrod Klausman, who finished the day 4-for-5 with a pair of runs scored, started the rally with a single. A single and hit batsman loaded the bases, and a ground out scored Klausman to tie the game at 2-2. Two batters later, No. 9 hitter Ryan Eschbaugh delivered a two-run, two-out single to give the Pioneers a 4-2 lead.

“They’re a really good team. They swing the bats very well,” Chapman University head coach Tom Tereschuk said of Marietta College. “There were a few plays we didn’t make. They just got away from us.”

Marietta College added a run in the fifth when Josh Beebe doubled and later scored on a single by Justin Steranka, who went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs batted in.

The Pioneers really started to put the game away in the seventh. A throwing error and single put a pair of runners aboard with no outs, and Steranka followed with a run-scoring single to chase Sulentor. Later, with one out, Tony Piconke executed a squeeze bunt to score another run, and Lee Guerrera followed with a run-scoring single to put Marietta College up 8-2.

Chapman University battled back in the bottom half of the inning to score twice. After Jarrod Sammet and Tyler Dean singled, John Alexander grounded to third with one out, but the throw to first was wild and both runners scored to trim Marietta College’s lead to 8-4.

The Panthers had another rally going in the eighth. Dennick left the game after giving up a lead-off walk and was replaced by Scott Dunn. After a hit batsman, sacrifice bunt and walk loaded the bases with one out, Dunn struck out Brian Brubaker and got Dean to ground out to end the threat.

Marietta College scored two more in the top of the ninth, with Pinconke delivering a run-scoring triple and Guerrera following that with a run-scoring single, to grab a 10-4 lead.

Chapman University left the bases loaded again in the bottom of the ninth, marking the third time in the game the Panthers left the bases full.

“I think that’s just baseball,” Tereschuk said of his team’s lack of timely hitting. “We will get that changed tomorrow.”

Marietta College is going for its fourth national championship after capturing titles in 1981, 1983 and 1986.

By Joe Vanden Acker
Lawrence University Sports Information Director

Photography by Lehigh Photo