MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The No. 1 ranked Marietta College baseball team opened the 2012 season with a doubleheader sweep of Rhodes College Saturday (Mar. 3) afternoon. The Etta Express scored early and often in both games winning 11-5 and 12-0. The Pioneers are 2-0 overall, while Rhodes falls to 7-6 on the season. [Game One Box] [Game Two Box]

Junior right fielder #Jordan Grilliot (Brookville/Northmont)# set the tone for Marietta when he led the day off with a single to left and then moved to second on a throwing error. Following a sacrifice bunt by senior #Kirby Becker (South Euclid/St. Ignatius)#, shortstop #Tim Saunders (Alliance/Alliance)# plated Grilliot with a double.

Saunders promptly stole third, one of four thefts he would have on the day, and scored on an RBI groundout by #Bryan Gregorich (Chardon/Chardon)# for a 2-0 Pioneer lead. Marietta added three more runs in the second inning highlighted by a solo home run off the bat of junior catcher #Alex Toth (Painesville/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin)#.

Becker and junior #Aaron Hopper (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg)# each singled in a run in the fourth inning to extend the Pioneer lead to 7-0.

Senior All-American pitcher #Brian Gasser (New Philadelphia/Indian Valley)# cruised through the first three innings allowing one hit. Gasser ran into a little trouble in the fourth. He walked the first two hitters and then surrendered an RBI single to designated hitter Matthew Burnick. A fly out and a double play ended the Lynx threat.

Trailing 8-1, Rhodes plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Marietta lead to 8-4. Three straight singles resulted in the first run of the inning followed by an RBI ground out and a Marietta error.

Gasser (1-0) picked up the win. He pitched 6.0 innings and gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Junior #Luke Langdon (Troy/Troy)# threw 1.1 innings and allowed one earned run on two hits. He walked two and struck out two. Junior #Evan Brockmeier# started at first base but picked up the save throwing the final 1.2 innings retiring each of the Lynx hitters he faced.

Both teams scored one run in the seventh. Marietta put the game away with two runs in the ninth. Grilliot and Becker both drove in a run in the inning.

Grilliot, Becker and Toth each had three hits for the Pioneers. Becker drove in three runs, while Toth had a double and a home run. Grilliot picked up a triple in the win.

Game two was dominated by senior pitcher #Austin Blaski (Pandora/Gilboa)#. Blaski threw 8.0 innings of shutout ball and allowed just five hits. He walked two and struck out six. Junior #Michael Mulvey# pitched the ninth and allowed one walk.

The Etta Express scored five runs in the top of the first and never looked back. Brockmeier had a two-run single and junior designated hitter #Braden Park (Oxford/Talawanda)# had a two-run double in the inning.

Saunders went 3-for-5 with two doubles and drove in a pair of runs. Hopper was 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored. Brockmeier drove in four and ended the game 2-for-3.

The Pioneers will look for the series sweep tomorrow when they meet Rhodes in a 12 p.m. single game.