Box Score 1 MARIETTA, Ohio —
Drew Holderbach (Fairfield, Ohio/Badin) understands how much the Marietta baseball program has improved since his freshman season.
He's not alone as the other fourth- and fifth-year seniors remember all too well what it was like to endure a losing season (18-21) and to not qualify for the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament in 2019.
On Sunday afternoon, in front of 590 fans, Holderbach helped the Etta Express erase those memories and cruise to a 19-5 victory over Oswego State in the Marietta Super Regional and advance to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, which begins Friday at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
"It's a big jump for us," said Holderbach, who had two hits and four RBI. We're all really excited for the opportunity, but we're not going to be a team that's just happy to be there. We're looking to win the whole thing."
Coach
Brian Brewer considers the 2019 season the worst in program history. That's why he was unusually emotional when reflecting on how far this group of seniors have come in four years.
"(I am) super proud of the guys. This is why a lot of kids come here for these types of opportunities," he said. "These guys earned the right to do this and be a part of this. Obviously they played pretty well on the ultimate stage."
Brewer continued, "This group took us from the bottom and they got us back to the top. I, and I'm sure our local folks and I know our Marietta College baseball fraternity are very appreciative and proud of that fact. It's a special, special group."
Marietta is returning to the World Series for the 23rd time in program history, but the first time since winning the championship in 2012. Starting pitcher
Isaac Danford (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta), who gave up one run on four hits over four innings, returned for a fifth season for this opportunity.
"Last year we got a little taste in the regional of what it's like to win again," Danford said. "With the group of seniors and fifth-years coming back, yeah, this is awesome. This is definitely what I came back for, but we're not done yet."
Marietta entered the Super Regional as the nation's top hitting squad and the Pioneers showed the Lakers why by hitting .356 (26 for 73) with four home runs and 31 RBI. The Etta Express were equally impressive on the mound and in the field. Marietta's pitchers had a 3.50 ERA against the Lakers (33-13) and committed just one error.
"It wasn't just the defense. It was the pitching also," Brewer said. "Some guys maybe weren't really sharp against them the last two days. … Isaac didn't have his great stuff, but he gave up one earned run in four innings and struck out five guys. He still did really good. Gino did a really good job coming in. We just have an expectation that our guys are going to be perfect all the time, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I thought we pitched really well. Maybe it doesn't show up in the box score, or based on our expectation level."
Senior
Brett Carson (Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley) enjoyed another big day at the plate as the Super Regional MVP went 2 for 3, including a two-run home run in the fourth inning. The left fielder hit .714 (5 for 7) in the two games.
"It's not just the two days, it's the whole season. He's been incredible," Brewer said about Carson. "There's so many guys and Brett is just one of them who has contributed. He's done it on the mound, defensively and offensively. He's really heating up. His parents have thanked me numerous times over the last couple of weeks for giving him this opportunity. We haven't given Brett anything. He's earned everything he's gotten. He came here to be a part of something like this, and I'm just thrilled to death that he is."
For the second time in the Super Regional, Marietta's offense enjoyed multiple big offensive innings that gave the Pioneers plenty of cushion. On Sunday, the Etta Express got things started by scoring six runs in the third inning off of Oswego State starter Anthony Van Fossen. Marietta also scored five in the fourth, two runs in both the fifth and sixth and added four more in the eighth.
"I think today was a carbon copy of yesterday," said Oswego State coach Scott Landers. "We came out well and then they put up a six-spot on three hits. Walks and errors created the big inning. Marietta capitalized on it and then, obviously, didn't look back."
Marietta managed only three hits during the third-inning rally, but three Lakers' errors proved very costly. Senior
Zach Boyd (Kent, Ohio/Tallmadge) delivered a key two-run double that bounced over the fence at the 370-foot mark in right-center.
Holderbach followed with a two-run single to right-center that scored
Damian Yenzi (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Boyd. Holderbach scored the final run on Carson's long line-drive to left that Oswego State's Julian Drew misplayed.
The Lakers responded with a single run in the bottom of the third when Ryan Enos led off with a double and scored on Lukas Olsson's single. However, Marietta starter
Isaac Danford (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) settled down to get out of the inning without any further damage.
Oswego State added four runs in the eighth inning off Marietta's
Kail Hill (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta), who walked three and gave up two hits.
Senior
Gino Sabatine (Alliance, Ohio/West Branch) earned the victory and improved to 7-1 after striking out one and not allowing any hits over three innings. Sabatine, who was mainly a starter until this season, has embraced his new role.
"It's about having a mindset of being ready to pitch whenever my name is called, and just go in there and do my job," Sabatine said. "We had a good lead going in, so I was going in there and just trying to throw strikes and do my best."
Sabatine hopes to have an even bigger impact in the next round of the postseason.
"(This) definitely built some confidence. It gets me ready to go in there next week," he said.
Senior
Sam Mathews (Fairfield, Ohio/Badin), the OAC Pitcher of the Year, gave up one hit and struck out one to close out the game in the ninth.
Marietta's
Turner Hill (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta),
Trent Castle (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington),
Alex Richter (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) and Boyd each had two hits, while Castle also had a homer.
Olsson led the Lakers with a three-hit, four-RBI performance on Sunday. Sam Allen added two hits after entering the game in the eighth inning.
"We've been here before. We know what it takes. We just didn't execute," Landers said. "We expect to be here and we expect to be a World Series-caliber team. We just ran into a buzz saw."
Marietta enters the World Series as one of the top hitting squads. The Pioneers had 66 hits in 181 at bats (.365 average) during the regional and super regional. Marietta will learn Monday what time it will play and who its opponent will be on Friday, June 3.
"We're going to enjoy this. I don't think we do that often enough," Brewer said. "I couldn't be any more proud of any group I have been around. The way that we played. The way that we stayed focused. We've had some challenges. I think people assume this is easy and it's not."
Marietta has an NCAA Division III-best six national championships. Hall of Fame coach Don Schaly led the Etta Express to titles in 1981, 1983 and 1986, while Brewer won championships in 2006, 2011 and 2012.
Fans can follow the Etta Express all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
