By Matt Wallisa

After a sectional semi-final win on Monday, Mariemont set the stage for a Wednesday night showdown against Maderia, one of the state's top ranked Division III teams.

For both teams, the mission was simple: win or close the books on the 2012 season. 

All season, Mariemont's strength has been their 1-2 punch at the top of their pitching rotation.

On Wednesday night, Mariemont turned the ball over to Wabash Valley JUCO recruit Erik Swanson, who's velocity has jumped considerably this spring. 

Meanwhile, Maderia, just a year removed from a state runner-up finish, countered with junior Arkansas recruit Andrew Benintendi. 

With both pitchers shutting down opposing batters, the game remained scoreless until the bottom of the 5th inning. 

Maderia junior Timmy James reached based on an error by the Mariemont defense. He quickly advanced to second base on a passed ball.

With a runner in scoring position, sophomore Jake Schweppe hit a bloop single to score James from second and put Maderia up 1-0.

Looking to adding an insurance run, Maderia struck again in the bottom of the 6th.

Benintendi, who will play the outfield at Arkansas, displayed his talents at the plate with a solo home run over the right field fence. 

After hitting the homerun, Benintendi returned to the mound in the top half of the 7th inning. He retired the Mariemont offense and closed the books on a complete game performance. 

In the win, Benintendi struck out seven batters. His fastball sat in the low 80's and topped out at 84 mph. He showed good command of a 70 mph curveball.

In the loss, Swanson struck out nine Maderia batters over his six innings of work. His fastball sat in the high 80's and topped out at 91 mph. His slider registered at 78 mph while his curveball sat at 76 mph.