Among the Elite Again

Walking to the parking lot of Perfect Game Field, each Marietta player was told to grab a boxed lunch and then take a seat on the idling charter bus for the ride back to the hotel.

It’s not often you will see a member of the Etta Express so overtly ignore Coach Brian Brewer’s directive. But there wasn’t a player who completed the task without an interruption. With tears flowing, the players were greeted by family and fans seeking a hug or they just wanted to chat following Marietta’s 6-4 loss to Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The emotional scene was understandable as no one wanted to get on the bus because it meant the magical 2022 season was officially over.

“The end of a season, and obviously the end of some careers, is always a tough moment,” says Brewer, who picked up his 600^th victory as Marietta’s coach in a 7-2 victory over Christopher Newport in a regional contest. “We didn’t achieve our goal of winning a national championship, but anyone who watched us play has to realize we didn’t play poorly. We lost two close games against two very talented teams. I am extremely proud of everything we accomplished this season, and I have a special place in my heart for this team as they helped Marietta College baseball get back to national prominence again.”

Gino Sabatine tried to make his way onto the bus, but with tears welling up and another teammate going in for another hug, the senior pitcher soaked up the moment. Sabatine was a bright spot in the season finale. Formerly the ace of the pitching staff, Sabatine had a 7-1 record this year, but his ERA was uncharacteristically higher than normal (5.09), and had not started a game since April 28^th.

But with the Pioneers’ backs to the wall, Brewer turned to Sabatine, a 2021 first team All-Ohio Athletic Conference pitcher. After giving up a first-inning run to one of the hottest hitting teams in the tournament, Sabatine settled down and pitched a solid 5 1/3 innings and left the game with the score tied 3-3.

“I had a shaky first inning. After that I just tried to lock it in and focus on every pitch,” Sabatine says. “I wanted to deliver in the clutch for my teammates. I was pleased with how I did, but I wish I could have done more to help us win.”

The Pioneers finished with a 44-7 record and ranked fifth in the final D3baseball.com poll. By the time the bus completed the 11-hour trip back to Marietta, everyone involved in the program was focused on the amazing season that just finished.

Marietta topped the D3baseball.com rankings for eight weeks and cruised through the regular season with 34 victories. The Etta Express added 10 postseason victories, including two wins over Oswego State in the program’s first Super Regional appearance.

“When you are accomplishing firsts in a program with as much tradition as ours, you know it is something special,” says Brewer, who was named the Region 7 co-Coach of the Year.

Marietta reached the World Series for the 23^rd time in program history, and it is the only school that has played at every host site — Marietta, Bristol (Connecticut), Battle Creek (Michigan), Salem (Virginia), Grand Chute (Wisconsin) and Grand Rapids (Iowa). But it had been a decade between appearances as Marietta’s last appearance was in 2012 when the Pioneers won its sixth national championship.

Throughout the final weeks of the season, Brewer consistently reminisced about how his seniors weathered a program-worst 18-21 season in 2019, and how they never stopped believing in the promise of a better future.

While they got off to a hot start in 2020 and were sitting at 9-3 when the season was canceled because of COVID. Last year, the Etta Express returned to regional play and won the OAC.

“Making it to the championship game of the regional last year is when we realized we were close to being back on top when we realized we could compete with anyone in the nation,” says outfielder Trent Castle. “Everyone was focused on the first day we returned to campus, and we had one goal in mind and that was to make sure Marietta baseball got back to the World Series.”

From March 27 through May 1, Marietta reeled off 21-consecutive victories en route to clinching the OAC regular season championship. After dropping a doubleheader to Otterbein in the final weekend of the season, the Pioneers rebounded and won three straight — Mount Union (19-2) and Baldwin Wallace (3-2 and 16-6) — to win the conference tournament.

Marietta also went 3-0 as it hosted the regional with victories over Kalamazoo (9-7) and Christopher Newport (14-5 and 7-2). Brewer’s squad also cruised in the Super Regional with two dominant wins over Oswego State (13-2 and 19-5).

While the Pioneers typically had eight seniors starting throughout 2022, Brewer is confident Marietta can remain a force in the conference and find its way back to NCAA Tournament play in 2023 and in the years to follow.

He is counting on strong leadership from Sabatine, Brett Carson (outfielder/pitcher), and Drew Holderbach (first base) — who are all expected to return for an additional COVID season in 2023.

Carson hit .423 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI, while also going 6-3 with 55 strikeouts and a 4.42 earned run average on the mound. Holderbach hit .408 with seven homers and 61 RBI as both players were first team All-OAC selections.

The Pioneers also return the ace of the pitching staff, Trent Valentine, who went 14-1 with 74 strikeouts and a 2.18 ERA. Valentine, a second team All-American, tossed a shutout in Marietta’s 7-0 victory over Catholic University in the Series opener.

“There’s no question we have some huge holes to fill, but this group of seniors made it their mission to help the younger guys. They made sure they understood the program's expectations and that we didn’t get back to this point to have us fall back,” Brewer says. “We have some seriously talented young players who simply had to wait their turn. Now it is their time to shine, and we are all ready to get back to campus this fall and put in the work to be even better.”