Marietta College tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning and Kyle Lundquist stroked an RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning, leading the ninth-ranked Pioneers to a 7-6 win and a doubleheader sweep of the Denison Big Red from Don Schaly Stadium. Marietta prevailed in game one, 7-3.
In game two, Denison took a 6-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth after eight strong innings from starting pitcher Bob Giarratani (Winthrop, Mass/Bishop Fenwick). The junior allowed five runs off 12 hits but struck out six. In the ninth, senior Aidan Lucas (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) took the hill looking for his 16th career save. Jordan Grilliot led off the inning with a single but Lucas battled back to retire the next two hitters. The No. 5 hitter, Braden Park, would tie the game at 6-6 with a double down the line in right field.
The Big Red would get a runner in scoring position in both the 10th and 11th inning but Marietta reliever Mark Williams slammed the door both times, setting up Lundquist's winning hit in the bottom of the 11th.
In the second game, Denison got a vintage performance from senior first baseman Park Smith (Warren, N.J./The Pingry School) who went 5-for-6 with four doubles. The four doubles were a career-high for Smith. It also marked the second time in his career that he has had five hits or more in a game. Last year he tied the DU single-game record with a 6-for-6 performance against Rhodes. Lucas, who started the game as the designated hitter, went 3-for-5 with three RBIs.
Williams earned the victory for Marietta to improve to 4-1 on the year. The loss was charged to DU sophomore McCavitt Carter (Hanoverton, Ohio/United Local) who recorded two outs in the 11th inning.
In the opener, Marietta scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. They would add two more runs in the fifth and a insurance run in the seventh to pull off the 7-3 victory. The loss was charged to Tyler Vaske (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) who pitched 5.2 innings allowing three earned runs off six hits. Brian Gasser improved to 5-0 thanks to his six innings of work. He allowed eight hits and three runs wile striking out five. Smith, Lucas, and freshman Tim Duxbury (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) were all 2-for-4 to lead the Denison offense in game one.
The wins improve Marietta's record to 15-3 while Denison's record drops to 10-9. The Big Red will travel to Springfield, Ohio on Friday (April 2) to begin a four-game series with Wittenberg. Friday's doubleheader will begin at 2 p.m. with Saturday's twin bill set to start at 12 p.m.
