Metikosh Spent Summer Homecoming As Pittsburgh Pirates Intern

Ashland University has spent the week rolling out its annual Homecoming celebrations.
 
Eagle senior outfielder Maren Metikosh had her own personal Homecoming over the summer, as the western Pennsylvania native interned with Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates.
 
"I had two roles, working with the Pirates," said Metikosh, a Marketing major. "I was fan engagement and marketing, in-game entertainment with the Bucco Brigade. And then, on the other side of things…they were like, 'we found out you play softball, do you want to be a ball girl, too?'
 
"My whole summer was just at the ballpark. It was fun. It was sad when I had to leave."
 
Metikosh, a lifelong Pirates fan, hails from Belle Vernon, Pa. – a small borough in situated along the Monongahela River, and a little more than 35 miles south of Pittsburgh.
 
"A Pittsburgh girl at heart," she noted. "I just wanted to work somewhere close to home. I know how the game is ran, I know how the game is done. So being familiar with it just made it a lot easier to have fun, work and collaborate with everyone."
 
Metikosh spoke about some of the aspect of MLB game-day operations that she wasn't aware of prior to her internship.
 
"Working in two different departments throughout the whole organization, it's odd to see how close the different departments work together make everything run so smoothly," she said. "The grounds crew, they're on top of it, and you've got to get out of their way.
 
"Watching everyone come together and work productively as a team, I would say, is awesome to see. Everything just comes together, and it's all just well-done."
 
While not famous for her work as an intern, Metikosh did say, "You will see me on TV every now and then. Not directly zoomed in on me."
  
What were her funniest moments during the internship?
 
"My first-ever ball girl day, my big MLB debut, first fall ball hit toward me, it was off the net," Metikosh said. "And I did catch it. I didn't think anything of it, so I caught it and put it in my bucket. And then I have fans cheering for me, and one guy yells, 'Smile, why don't ya?' I was nervous.
 
"The other one was, when a ball got hit off the tarp that lays against the third-base line, I misread it, the ball bounced off the tarp, rolled all the way to left field. And the opposing left fielder just didn't pick it up, so I had to run all the way out to left field, all the way back. I was on the field during the game."
 
After originally starting her collegiate career at Central Connecticut State, Metikosh transferred to Ashland prior to the 2025 season. A two-time Great Midwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference honoree, she hit .338 with 12 runs scored, a double and 10 RBIs in 28 games (24 starts) in 2025.

Metikosh then helped the Eagles to their first NCAA Division II postseason appearance and win in 11 years in 2026, hitting .289 with 12 runs scored, a double, two triples, two home runs and 11 RBIs in 24 games (16 starts).
 
"It was a crazy turnaround, going from playing in the regionals, and then hurrying up and going straight to work," she said. "I never left the ballpark, which I'm not complaining. That's my home.
 
"Us having a great season, then turning it around and me having a great summer, the year went by fast, and I enjoyed every moment of it."
 
As for what could happen professionally once her time as an Eagle student-athlete is over, Metikosh said she wants to return to PNC Park in 2027 – should an MLB labor lockout be avoided.
 
"I'm hoping to do it next year," she said. "It was an incredible experience."