Marietta, Ohio – May 14, 2011 – Second-seeded Heidelberg University finished runner-up at the 2011 Ohio Athletic Conference Baseball Championship after dropping a 7-3 decision to Marietta College. Marietta was the top-seed, and host institution, of the four-team double elimination tournament that was played at Don Schaly Stadium in Marietta, Ohio.
Heidelberg ranked ninth in the nation, and second in the Mideast Region, falls to 33-11 on the year will find out early Monday morning if they will receive an at-large bid to the 2011 NCAA Division III Regionals. The Berg has made three consecutive, four overall, appearances (2004, 2008, 2009, 2010) at the regionals, claiming the 2010 title.
It was the fourth straight year that Heidelberg and Marietta met on the championship day of the league’s postseason tournament. Overall the Berg and Marietta have battled for a title five times, with Heidelberg winning in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
The Berg placed four on the all-tournament team including outfielder Alex Monroe (Chagrin Falls, Ohio / Kenston), second baseman Gar Keen (Sparta, Ohio / Highland), designated hitter Elvin Williams Jr. (Euclid, Ohio / Euclid) and catcher Jordan Martin (Powell, Ohio / Olentangy Liberty). Finally, Andy Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Carroll) was named the Bob Fisher Sportsman of the Tournament.
Marietta scored first with an Aaron Hopper solo shot to left field in the second inning. Its lead was increased to three following two unearned runs in the fourth. A RBI single by John Snyder in the fifth continued to add to the Pioneers advantage.
Heidelberg got on the scoreboard in the sixth with a Williams run. Williams walked to reach the base paths and advanced to second on a Keen single. Two wild pitches later, Williams crossed home plate to erase a shutout.
Marietta added three insurance runs in the seventh, but was held scoreless in its final two at bats.
The Berg did not go quietly, scoring two runs off of RBI at bats from Monroe and Derek Andrzejczak (Sylvania, Ohio / Sylvania Northview) in the ninth to push the final score to 7-3.
At the plate, Heidelberg finished with six hits. Keen tallied two, while Brechun, Jason Lash (Strongsville, Ohio / Strongsville), Andrzejczak and Martin had a hit apiece. Scoring a run each was Brechun, Lash and Williams.
Suffering the loss on the mound was senior Brian Koehl (Sylvania, Ohio / Sylvania Northview). Koehl got the start and threw a five-hitter in 6.0 innings of work. He gave up five runs, three earned, while striking out three. For the year, Koehl is 5-3.