Turner Hill from Marietta got the call last night!  We knew he had a good shot this year.  Just set franchise record with 27 game hitting streak in AAA.  Great kid and family. His parents are flying out to SF today. He will be in Cleveland next week so we are trying to get a suite for one of the games.

D3Baseball.com 50th Anniversay Team

https://d3baseball.com/awards/all-decade/golden-team-50th

I had the pleasure of helping Jim Dixon put together stats for this project.  So many good players to choose from but the selection process wasn't exactly how I would have done it.  It's his baby so ultimately it's his decision.  He narrowed the field immediately by ranking each player with a number total.  Numbers were based on All-American selections (1st team = 5 points, 2nd team= 4 points, etc.).  Also consideration was given for Player of the Year, College Hall of Fame and MLB Draft selections...each of those were worth points.  A player needed at least 9 points to qualify and mostly players who were twice selected as 1st Team AA.  This is where I disagreed.  Anyway, it was a fun project and several OAC guys were included.

Marietta lost another assistant coach.  What a mess.  I'm sure the new coach will get things moving in the right direction again.

Quote from: Dr. Acula on July 22, 2026, 08:51:52 AMTy Dennison is headed to Akron.

Saw that..they do need pitching help.  At this point, unless there is a significant money difference, can't say that's a step up.  Knowing how they are with giving out money, I'm sure he didn't get much for baseball but overall I would assume it's much cheaper.  Can't knock a kid for wanting to challenge themselves at the D1 level.  I'm sure he'll get some opportunities.

Quote from: Dr. Acula on July 01, 2026, 09:17:57 AM

Quote from: Dr. Acula on May 26, 2026, 10:33:28 AMMount 1st team All-OAC 3B Drew Denham is in the portal.  He had a great year in his only season on campus and would have been penciled in at the 3 or 4 spot in the order next year.  Tough loss, but such is life in this era of college sports.

In our most recent edition of "such is life in this era of college sports" Mount's ace Ty Dennison is in the portal.  He was 9-1 and set the school record for strikeouts with 114 in the spring. 

I'm happy for Ty, but man as a fan you just can't even get remotely excited about your team potentially building up a good young nucleus into a veteran squad because chances are they aren't going to be around 4 years.  Etta was the first I remember recently being dealt a big blow when Richter and Davis(?) transferred to Ball State.  Again, you cannot fault the kids at all.  That's a chance to play D1 ball.  Purely from a fan of D3 perspective it's a new normal I'm still getting used to with the roster movement.

Marietta had 3 guys transfer to D1 schools after the 2024 season..Amburgey went to Valpo too.  It's a crazy game today.  All 3 played at D1 level and had enough talent to be there from the start.  Kids get overlooked all the time so getting some experience & success at D3 level can open some eyes.

Quote from: mc1983 on June 17, 2026, 09:46:31 PM

Quote from: Dr. Acula on June 17, 2026, 01:37:45 PMBased on the resume that seems like a quality hire.  Young guy should bring some good energy and fresh ideas to the program too.  I assumed it would be an alum, but honestly I like the thinking here.  They had a veteran old school HC who played there.  The last few years have mostly not been up to their standards.  So put a spark in there by hiring a young guy from a completely different tree.

Mostly my thoughts. I know that there will be some alumni upset that it isn't a member of the baseball fraternity. However, at this point, I do think bringing in someone with a fresh perspective is a positive.

There was a lot of turmoil this season with the Brewer situation. However, would the team have been that much better with him as head coach? It was evident coming into the season that there were serious pitching issues after Ziance.

The team was very young. If most guys stick around and don't hit the portal, there is some talent there to work with.

Every program has traditions and history but I've never been a person that believes in hiring someone because he is a "Marietta guy".  Hire the right person and if there is history, even better..but don't compromise just because. Honor the past, build for the future, live in the moment.

No, that team was going to struggle with whoever the coach was this year.  That being said, they actually made some  progress this year with a younger team.  Honestly, the previous year's team was the bigger disappointment.  They had a decent Senior class with pitchers who had played in big spots in previous years.

I have no doubt that they will get back to their winning ways.  They already have such a huge recruiting advantage with that stadium and the history.  Those factors are worth a few good players each year on their own.  But, when all is said and done, winning cures all.  Start winning again and those facilities and history start to separate you from the rest real quick.

Quote from: mc1983 on June 16, 2026, 05:47:30 PMWho knows where the money ended up, but the new coach has been hired: https://pioneers.marietta.edu/news/2026/6/16/baseball-sullivan-named-etta-express-head-coach.aspx

Pretty solid experience at the D1 level for a guy that some may see as the "back up" option. He'll need to get to work on the recruiting trail (and in the portal) ASAP. Maybe he can convince a few bench guys from Longwood to come along.

Sounds like they will be just fine w/ this guy. 

There has been talk for several years about them closing..it's that bad I guess.  Can't see an established coach taking the job if they know that..only way is if they offered good $ and that isn't the case.

Quote from: Dr. Acula on June 01, 2026, 11:08:40 AMIf they ended up offering $55k that's insultingly low for a job like Etta.

Agreed but they are hurting for money so trying to cut costs wherever they can.  Truly unbelievable timeline of events.  They have royally screwed this up!

Quote from: mc1983 on May 31, 2026, 05:29:11 PMOr...did some Etta Express alumni with deep pockets (perhaps a few of his former teammates) pony up to make a legitimate run at Deegan? If the money is essentially equal, you have to think that he entertains coming back to his alma mater and working to restore them to former glory.

The delay is not good news.  Job was offered to 4 candidates and each declined because of money and misrepresentation about the money.  Original job posting indicated $85,000 but when offers were made, that was reduced to $55,000.  As you can imagine, this didn't go over well.  They went down the list of the top 3 and each said no.  Then they went to #4 (which should have been their first choice from the beginning) and he said no.  Now, to make matters worse, their pitching coach has also announced that he is leaving.

Yes, those are the two..and the other OAC coach has confirmed he's staying where he is.  Mulvey told me he loved it at Hampden-Sydney and didn't plan to apply..but that was at the beginning of the season..and I didn't expect him to tell me any different at the time.  I like Cottom and I know Marietta does too.  Many think he would be the best choice.

The biggest surprise was not including previous coach Chad Langley in the mix.  He currently works in the Mets organization but wanted the job.  He was a no-brainer. Recruited arguably the best team they ever had, kids loved him and he has great pro connections.  Alot of people were upset he didn't make the cut.

Top 3 candidates are 2 MC alumni, one a current head coach and one an assistant.  The other candidate is a current OAC head coach.  I was told yesterday that it won't be the current OAC coach but I find that surprising.  Wish they would announce it already.

All 3 Region 7 teams are hosting supers this weekend, Denison, BW and Adrian.

Quote from: Dr. Acula on May 12, 2026, 10:55:21 PMAustin Ziance is transferring to WVU.  Big blow for Etta although probably not surprising.

Hard working kid and deserves it.  Had a ton of action once he went in the portal.  Sucks for new coach coming in..announcement to be made this week.  Unfortunately, very confident it's going to be a current OAC coach.

Quote from: Dr. Acula on May 04, 2026, 10:23:48 AMAside from our own tourney, the MIAA tourney should be a really good watch.  Adrian, Kalamazoo and Alma are so competitively matched you'd have to think it's going to be some good games up north this week.  Adrian is the proven program and won the regular season, but lost 2 of 3 to both the others.  Kalamazoo seems like the team of destiny this year and already has 30 wins.  And Alma went 5-1 against the other two including sweeping Kalamazoo in three 1 run games.

Agreed, should be a good one.  Alma could take that tourney.

As I said, ONU not playing great down the stretch.  Lose game 1 and down 2-0 in bottom of the 9th.  Had to walk it off to get the Muskies in the tourney