PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Marietta College scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning with the help of only one hit and went on to a 9-4 baseball victory over Eastern Connecticut State University Tuesday afternoon at North Charlotte Regional Park.

Eastern (0-3) outhit Marietta (3-4), 12-9, but the Pioneers scored seven runs in their first three at-bats and the Warriors were never able to score more than one run in an inning against starter Gino Sabatine (1-0) and reliever Isaac Danford, who limited Eastern to three hits and one run in recording a three-inning save.

Freshman catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) was one of four Eastern players with more than one hit. Malcom had three hits, including two doubles, with seniors Alex Parkos (Meriden) and Dale Keller (Oxford), and junior John Mesagno (Tappan, NY) each adding two.

First-year sophomore transfer first baseman Luke Broadhurst (Stafford) collected his first hit and drove in his first run with a fourth-inning single. Malcom plated Eastern's first run in the third with a double, senior Alexander White (West Hartford) plated the third run with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly, and Mesagno drove in the final run with a single in the seventh.

The second of five pitchers, junior righty Jack Risley (Willimantic) was summoned with none out in the first and pitched four innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits. Sophomore transfer Zach Player (East Hampton) made his Eastern debut with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, fanning two and walking one and allowing two hits.

Thus far, Mesagno leads Eastern with a .545 batting average, with Malcom at .500, White at .455 and  junior Jake LeFevre (Mansfield Center) at .429. Twelve pitchers, however, have walked 19 batters in 23.0 innings.

Eastern faces the University of Scranton Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Port Charlotte.