Etta Express travels to BW to begin OAC Tournament

Marietta College’s Cole Yeager (3) successfully steals second base during a game against John Carroll earlier this season at Pioneer Park.
(Photo by Aaron Lee)

Marietta College opens 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 straight year. The four-team, double-elimination tournament runs Thursday through Saturday at Fisher Field.

The tournament gets underway at noon on Thursday with No. 1 seed Baldwin Wallace, which finished with a 15-3 conference record and is 33-7 overall, playing No. 4 seed Ohio Northern (24-15, 11-7 OAC). The No. 3 seeded Etta Express (21-17, 12-6 OAC) plays the No. 2 seed Otterbein (25-13, 11-5 OAC) in the second game scheduled for 3 p.m. The Cardinals swept Marietta during the regular season posting scores of 14-7 and 8-7 in Westerville.

The Pioneers enter this weekend’s tournament on a four-game winning streak. Marietta, winners of the 2021 and 2022 OAC Tournaments, will be going for its league-leading 35th tournament crown and the OAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Since the current tournament format was adopted in 1985, the Pioneers have won 22 of the 39 OAC Tournament championships.

Otterbein has won seven OAC Tournament titles claiming the trophy in 1989, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017, and 2019. Ohio Northern has four tournament titles having won in 1974, 1976, 1982, and 1983. Baldwin Wallace claimed tournament crowns in 1985 and 2018.

Otterbein currently leads the OAC with a .315 batting average. Baldwin Wallace is closed behind with a .314 team average, while Marietta ranks fourth at .299 and Ohio Northern is sixth with a .294 team batting average. On the mound, the Pioneers lead the OAC with a 3.70 team earned run average. Baldwin Wallace is second in ERA with a 3.72 team mark, Ohio Northern is third at 3.84 and Otterbein ranks sixth at 5.36. Baldwin Wallace and Marietta are the top two teams defensively with .966 and .964 fielding percentages, respectively. Otterbein ranks fifth at .961 and Ohio Northern is seventh with a .957 fielding percentage.

A pair of juniors lead the Pioneer offensive attack. Outfielder Jeremy Tonelli had a team-best .364 batting average. Tonelli has nine doubles, one home run, and 22 runs batted. Second baseman Alex Richter is batting.361 and leads the team with nine home runs, two triples, 15 doubles, and 45 runs scored. Richter has driven in 33 runs, second best on the team. He has also set a school record getting hit by pitches 23 times this season.

Senior catcher Ben Kaplin enters the OAC Tournament hitting .333 with 11 doubles and two home runs. He leads Marietta with 40 RBI. Senior third baseman Nick Bonnizzio is hitting .324 with nine doubles and 42 runs scored in the leadoff position.

On the mound, senior left-hander Trent Valentine has posted a 4-3 record with a 2.39 earned run average while making a team-leading 13 starts. He has struck out 56 batters in 60-plus innings of work. Freshman right-hander Austin Ziance has stepped into the number two spot in the rotation and is 2-3 with a 5.70 ERA in 42-plus innings.

He has 41 strikeouts.

Senior right-hander Gabe Torres has taken on the closer role for the Pioneers and is 4-1 with three saves and a 1.66 earned run average in 18 relief appearances. Juniors Jacob Rocky and Forrest Havanis have both been productive in spot starts and middle relief. Rocky, a lefty, is 4-1 with one save and a 2.73 ERA. The right-handed Havanis is 4-3 with a 3.14 ERA.

Otterbein features one of the most experienced teams in the nation. The Cardinals have seven fourth and fifth-year players and two juniors in the starting offensive lineup. Senior shortstop Brayden Quincel leads Otterbein with a .370 batting average. He is tops in the OAC with 11 home runs and has driven in 45 runs.

Senior first baseman Jamie Perebzak is hitting .362 with nine doubles, nine home runs, and an OAC-leading 59 runs batted in. Designated hitter Gavin Thompson, a graduate student, is batting .350 with seven doubles, two home runs, and 31 RBI.

A trio of right-handers leads the Otterbein pitching staff, Graduate student Kyler Archual is 6-2 with a 4.14 earned run average in 10 starts. He has 48 strikeouts in 67-plus innings of work. Junior Bryson Bell has a 5-2 record and a 4.66 earned run average in 11 starts. He has recorded 37 strikeouts in 56 innings. Sophomore Sam Sethna is the Otterbein closer and has three saves to go along with a 4-1 record. He has a 5.23 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 17 relief appearances.

Baldwin Wallace is led by senior outfielder Joey Marousek who enters the OAC Tournament with a .366 batting average. He has 8 doubles and 32 runs batted in to go along with a team-best 22 stolen bases. Junior third baseman Mally Kilbane has an identical .366 batting average. Kilbane has recorded 15 doubles, three triples, three home runs, and 31 RBI.

On the mound, the Yellow Jackets will look to a pair of right-handed starters. Junior Vince Dolcemaschio is 7-2 with two saves and a 3.59 earned run average in 10 starts. He has struck out 57 batters in 67-plus innings. Sophomore Tyler Walker has posted an 8-1 record with two saves and a 3.12 ERA. Walker has 47 strikeouts in 60-plus innings in his 10 starts. Freshman right-hander Jake Heatherington has been effective in the closer role amassing a league-leading eight saves to along with his 4-0 record and 2.55 ERA.

A pair of junior outfielder leads the Ohio Northern offense. Joey Kennedy is batting .366 with seven doubles, while Sam Sells is hitting .358 with five doubles. Providing power to the Polar Bear lineup is sophomore first baseman Chase Armstrong. Armstrong is only hitting .293, but has a team-leading 15 doubles, seven home runs, 44 runs batted in, and 34 runs scored.

Senior pitchers Noah Truax and Jack Hutchins are at the top of the Polar Bear rotation. Truax is 6-2 with a 2.42 earned run average. He has made 11 starts and struck out 61 batters in 63-plus innings. Hutchins is 3-4 with a 2.82 ERA. Hutchins had struck out 66 batters in 67 innings in his 10 starts. Junior Joe Tootle and Blake Peterson will also figure into the Polar Bear pitching plans. Tootle is 5-0 with a 1.65 ERA in seven starts, while Peterson has made 12 appearances and is 2-2 with four saves and a 3.00 ERA. He has 44 strikeouts in just 30 innings of work.