Bison Baseball Earns Series Win over Thiel with Doubleheader Split
May 7 – GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Bethany College baseball team earned a series victory over Thiel College by posting a split with the Tomcats on Saturday afternoon in Greenville. The Bison fell 13-1 in the first game, before the Green & White used two seventh-inning runs to win game two, 5-3.
The latter game of the day, which allowed the Bison to clinch the series victory over the conference's second-ranked team, saw the host Tomcats jump out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
The Green & White responded with a three-spot in the top of the fourth inning as the Bison sent seven runners to the plate. John Lee (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and Kevin Marthinsen (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Freshman Neil Woods (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) then doubled home Lee to tie the game at 1-1.
With a runner on third and no out, Matt Shaffer (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) tallied a RBI groundout, scoring Marthinsen to push the Bison ahead. Woods then came in to score on an error by the Thiel third-baseman, extending the lead to 3-1.
The Tomcats pulled the game into a tie In the bottom of the fourth, posting a pair of runs on three-consecutive singles. With two runners on and just one out, the Bison brought in pitcher Joe Giles (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox), who got the Bison out of the jam to keep the game tied at 3-3.
It took until the top of the seventh for the Green & White to find the answer as Ben Gavlik (Hong Kong) got the Bison going with a one-out single. Following a bunt single from Ryan Nickerson (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) which put runners on first and second with one out, senior Ryan Bisi (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) brought home pinch runner Kealen Welch (Follansbee, W. Va./Brooke) to give the Green & White a 4-3 lead.
Two batters later, Lee singled through the right side of the infield, bringing home Nickerson to push the lead to 5-3.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Giles was able to shut the door on the Tomcats, allowing just one baserunner, before striking out the last batter of the frame to preserve the victory for the Bison.
On the mound, Giles, who came in for relief in the fourth inning, earned his fourth win of the season, throwing 3.2 innings of work while allowing just one hit and striking out three.
Offensively, Lee and Nickerson led the way for the Green & White, as each finished the outing with a pair of hits. Lee added a RBI, as did Bisi, while Nickerson scored a run. Other RBIs were turned in by Woods and Shaffer.
In the opening game, the Bison dropped the outing by a 13-1 decision. The Tomcats did a majority of their damage, combining for ten runs in the third and fourth innings.
Offensively, Zack Miller (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) posted a multi-hit performance while driving in the Bison's lone run in the third inning.
The split gave the Bison the series victory over the Tomcats, as the Green & White also captured a 6-5, extra-inning win on Friday. The series win marked the second of the season for the Bison, who also won two of three from Geneva College.
