Marietta College will open the gates at noon on April 25 for Baseball Community Day, with the Pioneers set to host Capital University in an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. at Don and Sue Schaly Field at Pioneer Park.
Admission is free, and the school is building the afternoon around more than just the two games on the schedule.
The ballpark setup is meant to feel like a full community event. Marietta is planning free food and drinks, giveaways, prizes, and youth activities, with complimentary hot dogs, hamburgers, and Pepsi products available while supplies last.
Instead of asking families to buy into a ticketed baseball afternoon, the college is making the day easy to step into, whether people are regular Pioneer fans or just looking for a spring afternoon at the field.
Baseball Community Day already has real history behind it. Community Day started in 1999 as part of a Sports Marketing class assignment and has since become a tradition connected to both the athletic program and the wider Mid-Ohio Valley community.
Read More: Morgan State will take its 2026 Coaches Caravan on the road with free fan eventsThe event is organized through the school’s Sport Management Capstone class, which gives the day another layer beyond the baseball itself. Students are not only helping fill the stands. They are part of the work that keeps the tradition going.
The baseball side still matters, though, and the matchup gives the day some weight on the field.
Marietta’s schedule lists the April 25 games against Capital at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., both at Pioneer Park, which means Community Day lands in the middle of conference play rather than on some off-date built only for promotion.
Fans who come out for the free afternoon will also be walking into games that count in the OAC race.
That mix is why the event works. The college gets a packed spring date around one of its flagship programs, families get a no-cost day at the ballpark, and local kids get something to do that goes beyond sitting in the stands.
Marietta has kept the day simple for years, open the gates, make it welcoming, put baseball at the center, and let the rest of the afternoon build around it.
On April 25, Pioneer Park will look less like a normal college baseball venue and more like a full community gathering built around the sport.
The doubleheader against Capital gives people a reason to come, but the free admission, food, giveaways, and youth activities are what turn the day into something bigger than a regular date on the schedule.
Read More: SUNY Niagara’s Brawl of the Falls will turn April 18 into a wrestling fundraiser