Written by: Zachary Worstell (zdw001@marietta.edu)
The Marietta College softball team began the season undefeated. While that would not last, the team still put up a strong performance finishing the season 20-15-1. While they missed the OAC tournament, the softball team had one of the greatest seasons in recent memory.
The season began for the lady Pios in Florida for the Space Coast Spring Games during spring break, and it could not have gone better. Against eight other schools Marietta came out on top with a 10-0 record. This record-breaking season lead carried with them into their home opener during the BSN Sports softball classic.
On the first day of the classic Marietta went head-to-head with Penn State Behrend. The Lions gave the Pioneers their first loss of the season as while the Pioneers had a 6-2 lead heading into the seventh, Behrend scored 9 unanswered runs to win 11-6.
Marietta was able to split the series, as in the second game they mercy ruled the Lions. Marietta came out with an early 9-0 lead in the first followed by a 15-2 lead in the second, however Behrend mounted a comeback in the third closing the gap 15-10. However, Marietta scored 11 unanswered runs and ended in game in the 5th to claim a 26-10 victory.
The following series against Hiram College went quite similar, as Marietta lost the first game 6-3, but was able to split the series with a 10-2 5th inning win in the second game.
Sitting at 12-2 overall, the Pios faced their first OAC conference matchup with Ohio Northern. The Polar Bears did not go scoreless in any inning, as they won the first game 15-7. During the second game, the Pios were able to silence the Polar Bears in the first inning, but Ohio Northern came back and swept the Pios with a 6-5 victory.
To kickoff April, Marietta traveled on the road for the first time this season to face Otterbein. The Pios scored first, however let up nine unanswered runs to loss 9-1 to the Cardinals in the 5th inning. However, the Pios would not deter from their first mercy rule loss, as they cameback to split the series with a 7-5 win.
The Pios split their next series as well, as they started off with a 5-4 win over Wilmington, but then were shut out with a 3-0 loss to the Quakers. This put the Pioneers at 14-6 halfway through the season.
Marietta’s next matchup came with the formidable 17-2 Baldwin Wallace team. The Pios put up two hard fought efforts but were swept by the Yellow Jackets 7-5 and 13-8.
The Pioneers bounced back in the following series as they beat Muskingum 8-6, and the second game was ruled a no contest.
Marietta mounted another split series as they dominated John Carroll in the first game with an 11-0 5th inning win but lost 6-5 in the second game.
Marietta took a break from their conference matchups to host Bethany College and Denison University in their final home games of the season. The first game saw a quick 7-0 start for the Pios which helped them to an 8-5 win, and the second game ended in a 4-4 tie after darkness forced the game to end before extra innings. This break was not all well for the Pios, as Denison gave Marietta a challenge taking the first 6-3 and mercy ruling the Pios in the second 13-0.
Now at 17-11-1, Marietta returned to their slate of OAC games. First, the Pios ventured to Tiffin to face Heidelberg University. Marietta took the first 4-3 but lost the second 6-3. Marietta got swept in their second road trip, at Mount Union came out with an 8-1 win and a 5th inning 15-2 win.
In their last non-conference matchup for the year, Marietta traveled to face Ohio Wesleyan University. The Pioneers came back to win the first game 5-2, but the Battling Bishops dominated the second game for a 5th inning 8-0 shut out.
After another split series, Marietta found themselves versus Capital University in the final game of the season. The second game of the series was rained out, but the first game was an offensive battle. Marietta found themselves ahead, and while the Comets scored five unanswered runs, the Pios still came out on top ending the season with a 10-9 win.
This put the Pioneers with a regular season record of 20-15-1. And while they had the third best regular season record in the OAC, their 6-10 conference record put them sixth in the OAC standings. This resulted in the Pioneers missing out in the OAC playoffs which features Baldwin Wallace, Mount Union, Ohio Northern, and Muskingum.
This is the Pios third winning record season of the 2020s, the last being a 24-17 record in 2023. In 2023, the Pioneers made it to the NCAA tournament, and it is still to be determined if Marietta will be invited. With four games cancelled this season, Marietta could have built themselves a stronger resume. However, this Pioneer team will still go down in the record books for the strong start in Florida.
