Marietta comes out of OAC to take title

By Dave Kisor for D3baseball.com

Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC): In 2011, if you were talking about OAC baseball, you were most likely talking about Marietta College. The Pioneers dominated the OAC with a first place regular season record of 17-1, finishing four games ahead of second place Heidelberg. Marietta beat Heidelberg in the finals of the OAC tournament to advance to the Mideast region tournament held at their home field, Don Schaly stadium. Heidelberg kept Marietta from the 2010 Division 3 championships as they beat the ‘Etta Express in the Mideast Region Finals on their way to Wisconsin. In 2011, the table was turned as Marietta beat Heidelberg in the OAC and the Mideast region finals. In Appleton, Marietta captured their record fifth national championship.

OAC regular season champion: Marietta
OAC tournament champion: Marietta
NCAA tournament participants: Marietta, Heidelberg
OAC Player of the Year: Senior outfielder John Snyder, Marietta
OAC Pitcher of the year: Junior Brian Gasser, Marietta
OAC Coach of the Year: Brian Brewer, Marietta

Brian Gasser was the2011 D3baseball.com Pitcher of the year. Marietta photo by Larry Radloff

Marietta (17-1; 47-4): Pitching led the way as the Pioneers accumulated 47 wins, the most since 2001. The pitching staff included nine individuals that recorded wins and a closer with 12 saves. In all, the pitchers had an ERA of 1.74, leading the OAC and the nation to go along with an NCAA record 14 shutouts. Collectively, teams batted just .195 against Marietta pitching. They allowed three earned runs in the OAC tournament with a 4-0 win over Heidelberg in the opening round and a 7-3 win over the “Berg” in the finals. The mound dominance continued into the Mideast regional tournament as the Pioneers allowed just nine runs as they strung four wins together to earn the Mideast crown. The trip to the championships was the 21st in school history.

Three Marietta starting pitchers were All-OAC First Team selections. Brian Gasser (D3Baseball.com/ NCBWA Pitcher of the Year, ABCA First Team All-American and Co-Player of the Year, D3Baseball.com First Team All-American, First Team All-Mideast Region, and OAC Pitcher of the Year), a junior, went 14-1 with an ERA of 1.06. He had 89 strikeouts in 93.1 innings and did not allow a home run throughout the 2011 season. Senior Mark Williams (D3Baseball.com Second Team All-American and First Team All-Mideast Region) led the Pioneers with 97 strikeouts in 79 innings. His 1.59 ERA was third in the OAC. Austin Blaski (D3Baseball.com All-American Honorable Mention, ABCA Second Team All-American, and First Team All-Mideast Region) had a 12-2 record and an ERA of 1.62 while leading the team in innings pitched and allowing the fewest walks (22 in 94.2 innings). The junior right-hander’s 12th win came in the form of a national championship victory as he allowed just one run on two hits over six innings in Marietta’s 18-5 finals win over Chapman.

John Snyder was the OAC Player of the Year and a D3baseball.com All-American. Marietta photo by Mitch Casey Photography

Joining the Marietta pitchers on the All-OAC first team was outfielder John Snyder (.453 BA, 51 R, 86 H, 21 2B, 4 HR, 63 RBIs). The senior was also a D3Baseball.com first team All-American, as well as an All-Mideast region first team selection and Gold Glove winner. He led Marietta in hits and RBIs. The ‘Etta defense was strong up the middle as evidenced by All-OAC first team selections, juniors Tim Saunders (ss) and Kirby Becker (2nd base). Saunders, who was also an All-Mideast region first team selection, batted .385, with 54 runs scored, 79 hits, and 53 RBIs. He also led Marietta with 27 stolen bases in 31 attempts. Becker had a .328 BA and a team leading 59 runs scored. Sophomore Aaron Hopper was named to the All-Mideast region third team. He had a .358 BA and was the team home run leader with five.

Marietta Head Coach Brian Brewer was named the OAC Coach of the Year. In eight years at Marietta he has amassed a record of 278-103 (.730). He led Marietta to the 2006 National Championship. That year, he was also named the Mideast region and National Coach of the Year.

Heidelberg (13-5; 36-13): The recent years have been very successful with regards to Heidelberg baseball. The 36 wins this year rank fourth all time and marks the seventh time the school had 30-plus wins. Heidelberg’s position at or near the top of the OAC continues as they found themselves in the OAC tournament finals for the fourth consecutive year. On their way to the OAC tourney finals, the Student Princes got a first-round 14-5 win over Mount Union, highlighted by the 2 for 4, five RBI effort of Alex Monroe. Heidelberg’s batters were dominated by Marietta’s Blaski in round two, as they could only muster two hits in the 4-0 loss. It was either all or nothing for Heidelberg as they again plated 14 runs in a loser’s bracket 14-5 win over John Carroll. This time it was senior Gar Keen who led the offense, going 4 for 6 with four RBIs. Monroe, still swinging the hot bat, went 3 for 6 and drove in three runs. Having to face Marietta in the finals, Heidelberg was determined to avoid the shutout, but three runs was not enough as they fell 7-3 ending OAC play as the conference runner-up.

Andy Lowe set a D-III record for saves in a career in 2011. Heidelberg athletics photo

Traveling back to Marietta, the site of the 2011 Mideast region tournament, Heidelberg knew they would have to get past the host team to return to Appleton for the second consecutive year. They split the regular season series with Marietta that was played at “peaceful valley”; however, it was clear that the home field was an advantage for ‘Etta based on the OAC tournament results. Things would be no different in the Mideast tournament. After a first round 12-5 win over Penn State Altoona and a second round 8-1 victory against Case Western Reserve, Heidelberg faced their rivals in the pin stripes. Marietta pitching allowed six runs in the game, the third most runs allowed in a game all season, but Heidelberg faired much worse, giving up 15 earned runs in the 23-6 loss. The Student Princes eliminated Case with a 16-6 loser’s bracket win, putting themselves in the position to return to Appleton, but they would have to repeat their 2010 performance in the Mideast region finals when they beat Marietta. The championship game was a classic “pitcher’s duel”. Considering that up to the final game, Heidelberg and Marietta averaged 13 and 12 runs per game, respectively, a low scoring event was not necessarily expected.  Marietta plated a run in the bottom of the first inning and Heidelberg tied the score in the top of the fourth inning. Marietta scored the game winner in the bottom of the fifth, when an error allowed Jordan Grilliot to reach first. He eventually scored on a Saunders triple. Heidelberg threatened in the eighth, but fell to Marietta 2-1 ending the season at 36-13.

Shortstop Jason Lash was an All-OAC first team member for all four years he was at Heidelberg. Heidelberg athletics photo

Senior pitcher Andy Lowe earned All-OAC first team status, for the third consecutive year. The 6' 160 lb. right hander was also named to the D3baseball.com All-American first team, the ABCA All-American third team, and was an All-Mideast region first team selection. He had a 5-1 record, with 14 saves, sporting an ERA of 2.08, with 58 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched. Fellow hurler, senior Nathan James went 68 innings, allowing 18 earned runs for an ERA of 2.38. He joined Lowe on the OAC first team and was named to the All-Mideast region second team. Three Heidelberg position players were named to the OAC first team; Junior outfielder Ricardo Lizcano batted .402 with 55 runs scored, 70 hits and 9 home runs, all of which were team leading. Lizcano was also named to the All-Mideast region first team, ABCA All-American third team, and was a D3baseball.com All-American honorable mention. Willie Brechun (All-Mideast region third team), senior third baseman, hit .349 with 37 runs scored and 65 hits. He had eight home runs and a team leading 51 RBIs. Senior Jason Lash hit .369 scoring 46 runs. He led Heidelberg with 20 doubles and stole 15 bases in 20 attempts. Lash was also named the ABCA All-American third team and was a Mideast region Golden Glove winner at short stop. Other All-Mideast awards winners were Gar Keen, Ethan Holt and Monroe. Keen, a senior Gold Glove second baseman batted .314 with 39 runs and 60 hits; he made only four errors in 145 attempts. Holt, a sophomore pitcher, was 9-2 and led Heidelberg with work on the mound, pitching 73.1 innings. Monroe, who excelled in the OAC tournament, hit .368 on the year, with 67 hits, including a team leading six triples. Sophomore Jordan Martin was awarded a Gold Glove for his work behind the plate. Martin had a .994 fielding percentage with only two errors.

Brian Benander (pictured) and Tom Hickey represented John Carroll on the All-OAC first team. John Carroll athletics photo

John Carroll (11-7; 19-20): The Blue Streaks earned their ninth overall and third consecutive trip to the OAC conference tournament having finished the OAC regular season tied with Mount Union in third place. John Carroll was seeded fourth in the tournament and opened up against No.1 Marietta. The Blue Streaks took an early 1-0 lead, but a three-run seventh inning gave Marietta the come from behind win with the final being 4-1. John Carroll then eliminated Mount Union from the tournament as they beat the Purple Raiders 7-1. John Carroll pitcher Tony Evanko picked up his first win of the year, going five innings without giving up a run. He allowed just four hits and struck out three Mount Union batters. John Carroll’s season ended with a 14-5 loss to Heidelberg. They did not have a win against Marietta or Heidelberg during the 2011 campaign and finished just below .500 overall.

Senior third baseman, Brian Benander and junior first baseman Tom Hickey garnered All-OAC first team awards. Benander, JCU’s career leader in OBP at .491 collected 50 hits to lead the Blue Streaks. He batted .352 and led the team with 41 runs scored. Additionally, he stole 11 bases in 12 attempts. Hickey led the team with a .391 BA with 52 hits including 14 doubles and two triples. He also led the Blue Streaks, being walked 24 times.

Mount Union's Greg Ferrell has committed just one error in his last 249 chances dating back to the 2009 season. Mount Union athletics photo

Mount Union (11-7; 17-20): The Purple Raiders were last in the OAC tournament in 2008 and went “two-and-out”. The 2011 edition of the Mount Union baseball team, the OAC tournament No. 3 seed, was hoping for better results in this years’ tournament, but fell in the first round game to Heidelberg 15-5 and were ousted from the tournament after a 7-1 loss to No. 4 seed JCU. UMU’s senior outfielder Greg Ferrell earned first team All-OAC honors. He led Mount Union with a .404 BA, with 33 runs and 44 hits, including seven home runs.

Otterbein (9-9; 19-20): From 2001 through 2009, the Cardinals were “regulars” in the OAC conference tournament and were OAC champions in 2007, 2008, and 2009. In 2010 Otterbein recorded an overall record of 19-20, marking the first time in nearly a decade that the Cardinals had fewer than 20 wins in a season. The 2011 campaign was identical to last year with the same overall record with the Cardinals missing the OAC tournament with a fifth place finish. Catcher Wes Meadows was an All-OAC first team selection and also earned All-Mideast region second team honors. The sophomore led the team in batting average (.373), runs scored (39), hits (53), doubles (14), triples (8), home runs (6), and RBIs (36) among other statistical categories. His 101 total bases make him the eighth Otterbein player to eclipse 100 in a season. Defensively, Meadows picked four runners off base and threw out 15 runners trying to steal bases.

Capital (8-10; 12-22): In 2008, the Crusaders went 2-16 in the OAC and have added two wins each season since, to continue improvement in the conference.  This year, Capital finished sixth and recorded wins against tournament teams, Heidelberg and Mount Union. Second baseman, Jacob Thurmond scored 15 runs, had 32 hits and 11 RBIs. Defensively, the sophomore had only one error in 61 attempts, as he was awarded All-OAC second team honors.

Josh Scott pitched the fourth no-hitter in program history for Baldwin-Wallace. Baldwin-Wallace athletics photo

Baldwin Wallace (5-11; 17-17): The five OAC wins for BW were the fewest going back to at least 2003. However, the Yellow Jackets were moving in the right direction as the 17-17 overall record was considerably better than the 2010 record of 12-23-1.The highlight of the season was Josh Scott's no-hitter, a 12-0 victory over Ohio Christian. 2011 was the first year for Head Coach Brian Harrison, following the remarkable tenure of Bob Fisher who coached at Baldwin Wallace for 42 years and amassed 700 wins. The Yellow Jacket’s Nolan Neuschaefer earned All-OAC honorable mention. The sophomore outfielder batted .308 with 37 hits and 33 runs scored. He stole 16 bases on 19 attempts.

Wilmington (4-12; 9-20): Wilmington picked up one more win in the 2011 season as compared to 2010. The Quakers senior outfielder, Dan Roncolato earned honorable mention All-OAC honors as he batted .330 with 36 hits and 26 runs scored. He led Wilmington with 10 doubles and had 21 RBIs. Junior Bruce Dunlap had team leading statistics including batting average (.367), hits (40), and RBIs (24). Like Roncolato, Dunlap earned All-OAC honorable mention.

Adam Yunker led the Polar Bears in runs scored (32) and stolen bases (15). Ohio Northern athletics photo

Ohio Northern (4-14; 19-19): The Polar Bears finished fifth in the OAC in 2010, one spot out of the OAC tournament. With almost all of the pitching and most of the core of a sound defense returning, the 2011 season looked bright. However, ONU regressed in 2011, dropping to last place in the standings. The highlight of the OAC season was a 1-0 win over Heidelberg. Adam Yunker earned All-OAC honorable mention. The senior batted .333, and led the team in hits (43), runs (32), walks (24) and steals (15 for 19).

Northern had not been to the OAC tournament throughout the tenure of Head Coach Justin Bergman. With the program’s disappointing 2011 finish in the OAC, Northern moved to make a coaching change as 2011 was the last for Bergman. ONU hired Gene Stechschulte to take the helm of the baseball program in 2011-2012. Stechschulte has coached in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League and with American Legion baseball. The former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher and Ashland University All-American will look to move the Polar Bears back into OAC championship contention.