Baseball: Ohio Northern (15-14 Overall, 6-6 OAC) at Marietta (14-15 Overall, 7-5 OAC)

Monday, April 22, 2019, 1 p.m. — Don Schaly Stadium, Marietta, Ohio

Monday's Preview: The Ohio Northern baseball program opens a busy nine-game stretch over the next seven days Monday afternoon with a pivotal Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader at Marietta ... Game one is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch at Don Schaly Stadium ... The Polar Bears enter the week sporting a 15-14 overall record and a 6-6 mark in league play ... With six conference games remaining, ONU sits sixth in the league standings and one game removed from the top-four slots, which automatically qualify for the OAC Tournament ... Northern is coming off a 7-4 loss to area-rival Bluffton last Wednesday afternoon ... Sophomore infielder Michael Rocco led the offensive attack after finishing two-for-four with a team-high two RBI ... Junior Phil Buckingham and sophomores Will Davis and Andy Mills also produced two hits each ... On the mound, senior pitcher Blake Lester hurled seven strong innings, surrendering just one run on six hits while striking out a career-high seven batsmen ... Through 29 games, Rocco leads the Polar Bears and ranks third in the OAC with a .412 batting average ... He also leads the team with 42 total hits, 20 RBI, and nine stolen bases this season ... Burkett and senior Luke Klinehoffer are 2-3 in batting average with .340 and .331 marks, respectively ... Klinehoffer also leads ONU with 24 runs scored and is tied for second with 19 RBI ... He ranks second in school history with 44 career doubles, just two off the program record, and is tied for third all-time with 175 career hits ... On the mound, junior Jack Schaller tops the pitching staff with a 4-1 overall record ... Klinehoffer, Lester, and juniors Josh Mohr, Troy Wagner, and Nate Bye each have two victories ... Bye also leads the team with 31 strikeouts this season ... Marietta enters the week owning a 14-15 overall record and a 7-5 mark in the OAC ... The Pioneers are tied with Otterbein for fourth in the league standings, leading ONU by one game ... Sophomore infielder Damian Yenzi paces the MC offense with a .385 batting average, 47 hits, 27 RBI, and eight stolen bases ... On the mound, sophomore John Stover leads the pitching staff with four victories while freshman Sam Mathews tops the team with six saves, which ties for second-most in the conference.

Ohio Northern Batting Leaders:

Ohio Northern Pitching Leaders:

All-Time Series Notes: Marietta currently leads the all-time series 78-20 over ONU ... Last season, the Polar Bears swept then-ranked No. 15 Marietta 5-2 and 2-1 at Wander Field.

ONU Head Coach Gene Stechschulte: Stechschulte is in his eighth season leading the Ohio Northern baseball program with a 174-129 record, a .574 win percentage.