Cole Yeager, 3, of Marietta College, stole second base in a game against John Carroll at Pioneer Park earlier this season. (Photo provided by Aaron Lee)
Marietta College begins its quest for the 2024 Ohio Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament Championship today.
Baldwin Wallace won the OAC Regular Season Championship and will host the OAC Tournament for the second year in a row. The four-team double-elimination tournament will be held Thursday through Saturday at Fisher Field.
The tournament begins at noon Thursday, with top-seeded Baldwin Wallace, who finished 15-3 in the conference and 33-7 overall, taking on fourth-seeded Ohio Northern (24-15, 11-7 OAC). ) to play against. The third-seeded Etta Express (21-17, 12-6 OAC) will take on the second-seeded Otterbein (25-13, 11-5 OAC) in the second game scheduled for 3 p.m. The Cardinals defeated Marietta in the regular season by scores of 14-7 and 8-7 at Westerville.
The Pioneers enter this weekend’s tournament on a four-game winning streak. Marietta, winners of the 2021 and 2022 OAC tournaments, will seek a league-leading 35th tournament crown and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by the OAC. The Pioneers have won 22 of his 39 OAC tournament championships since the current tournament format was adopted in 1985.
Otterbein won seven OAC tournament titles and trophies in 1989, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017 and 2019. Ohio Northern has his four tournament titles, which he won in 1974, 1976, 1982 and 1983. Baldwin Wallace in 1985 and 2018.
Otterbein currently leads the OAC with a batting average of .315. Baldwin Wallace is a close second with a team batting average of .314, while Marietta ranks fourth with a team batting average of .299 and Ohio Northern ranks sixth with a team batting average of .294. On the mound, the Pioneers led the OAC with a team ERA of 3.70. Baldwin Wallace is second with a team ERA of 3.72, Ohio Northern is third with a 3.84 and Otterbein is sixth with a 5.36. Baldwin-Wallace and Marietta are the top two teams with a fielding percentage of .966 and a fielding percentage of .964, respectively. Otterbein ranks fifth with a .961 fielding percentage and Ohio Northern ranks seventh with a fielding percentage of .957.
The Pioneers’ offense will be led by two juniors. Outfielder Jeremy Tonelli had a team-best batting average of .364. Tonelli has nine doubles, one home run, and 22 RBI. Second baseman Alex Richter is batting .361, leading the team with nine home runs, two triples, 15 doubles, and 45 points. Richter scored 33 runs, second most on the team. This season, he also set a school record for hit by pitches 23 times.
Senior catcher Ben Caplin participated in the OAC Tournament, hitting .333 with 11 doubles and two home runs. He leads Marietta with 40 RBIs. Senior third baseman Nick Bonizio is batting .324 with nine doubles and 42 runs scored in the leadoff position.
On the mound, senior left-hander Trent Valentine started a team-leading 13 games and posted a 4-3 record with a 2.39 ERA. He struck out 56 batters in over 60 innings pitched. Freshman right-hander Austin Zians has moved into the second spot in the rotation, posting a 2-3 record with a 5.70 ERA over 42 innings pitched.
He has 41 strikeouts.
Senior right-hander Gabe Torres has assumed the role of closer for the Pioneers, posting a 4-1 record with 3 saves and a 1.66 ERA in 18 relief appearances. Juniors Jacob Lockey and Forrest Habanis have both been productive in spot starts and in middle relief. The left-handed Rocky has 4 wins, 1 loss, 1 save and a 2.73 ERA. Habanis, a right-hander, has a 4-3 record and a 3.14 ERA.
Otterbein features one of the most experienced teams in the country. The Cardinals have seven fourth- and fifth-year players and two third-year players in the starting lineup on offense. Senior shortstop Brayden Quinsel leads Otterbein with a .370 batting average. He leads the OAC with 11 home runs and has 45 RBIs.
Senior first baseman Jamie Perevzak is batting .362 with nine doubles, nine home runs and an OAC-leading 59 RBIs. Graduate student Gavin Thompson, the designated hitter, has a batting average of .350, seven doubles, two home runs, and 31 RBIs. RBI.
A trio of right-handed pitchers lead the Otterbein pitching staff, with graduate student Kyler Archial starting 10 games and posting a 6-2 record with a 4.14 ERA. He had 48 strikeouts over 67 innings pitched. Junior Bryson Bell started 11 games and had a 5-2 record with a 4.66 ERA. He had 37 strikeouts in 56 innings. Sophomore Sam Cessna was Otterbein’s closer and made three more saves for a 4-1 record. He posted a 5.23 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 17 relief appearances.
Baldwin Wallace will be led by senior outfielder Joey Marousek, who will enter the OAC Tournament with a batting average of .366. He had eight doubles and 32 RBIs, and stole a team-high 22 bases. Junior third baseman Marie Kilbane is hitting .366 as well. Kilbane had 15 doubles, three triples, three home runs, and 31 RBIs.
On the mound, the Yellow Jackets will look to two right-handed starting pitchers. Junior Vince Dolcemaschio has started 10 games and is 7-2 with two saves and a 3.59 ERA. He struck out 57 batters over 67 innings. Sophomore Tyler Walker posted an 8-1 record with two saves and a 3.12 ERA. Walker has 47 strikeouts over 60 innings in 10 starts. Freshman right-hander Jake Hetherington was effective in the closer role, posting a league-leading eight saves and posting a 4-0 record with a 2.55 ERA.
Two junior outfielders lead Northern Ohio’s offensive line. Joey Kennedy is hitting .366 with seven doubles and Sam Sells is hitting .358 with five doubles. Powering the Polar Bears’ batting lineup is sophomore first baseman Chase Armstrong. Armstrong only batted .293, but led the team with 15 doubles, seven home runs, 44 RBIs, and 34 runs scored.
Senior pitchers Noah Tuax and Jack Hutchins are at the top of the Polar Bear rotation. Truax is 6-2 with a 2.42 ERA. He started 11 games and struck out 61 batters over 63 innings. Hutchins is 3-4 with a 2.82 ERA. Hutchins started 10 games and struck out 66 batters in 67 innings. Juniors Joe Tootle and Blake Peterson will also be part of the Polar Bear pitching plans. Toole is 5-0 with a 1.65 ERA in seven starts, while Peterson is 2-2 with four saves and a 3.00 ERA in 12 appearances. He had 44 strikeouts in just 30 innings.
