Bison Baseball Upended by Grove City
April 27 – GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Bethany College baseball team found themselves on the wrong end of an offensive explosion as the Bison dropped a 22-7 decision to Grove City College in Presidents' Athletic Conference action on Wednesday.
The day started off well for the Green & White, as the Bison jumped all over Wolverine pitching for four runs in the top of the first inning. With two outs in the frame, Kevin Marthinsen (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) reached base and was immediately brought home on a two-run homer from freshman first baseman Neil Woods (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny). The round-tripper marked the first in the career of Woods, who was making his 11th-consecutive start.
The inning continued with the two-out rally, as both Sage Micomonaco (Middletown, Ohio/Madison) and Jacob Stemmerich (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) got aboard for junior Zack Miller (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin). The Bison's hit leader came through with runners on second and third, roping a two-run single to give the Bison a 4-0 lead.
The Wolverines would respond in the first and second innings, plating three runs to trim the Bethany advantage to one, 4-3. However, the Bison would tack on another run as Marthinsen extended his hitting streak to a career-high seven games before coming around to score on an error, making the lead 5-3.
From there, however, the host Wolverines would find their bats, scoring seven runs in both the third and fourth innings. Grove City would also add two more runs in the fifth inning and three in the seventh to total their 22 runs.
Bethany's remaining two runs came in the visitor's half of the seventh inning as Stemmerich scored on an error before Miller was brought home on a sacrifice fly from senior Ryan Bisi (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe).
Offensively, three different Bison tallied multi-hit performances, including a career-high four from freshman John Lee (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington). The leadoff man finished the game 4-for-6, marking the most hits by a Bison in a single game this season.
Woods posted two hits, including the home run and a pair of RBIs, while Miller tallied his third, three-hit performance of the season. He also added a pair of RBIs and scored a run.
Bethany will be back in action on Friday, April 29, as they play host to Thomas More College. The nine-inning affair is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.
