Bison Baseball Defeated in Doubleheader Action Against Thomas More

April 10 – BETHANY, W. Va. – The Bethany College baseball team dropped both games of a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader with Thomas More on Sunday afternoon. The Bison were defeated 2-1 in the opening contest before falling 10-2 in game two.

In the opener, senior Ryan Bisi  (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) started on the mound for the Bison (6-15, 3-7 PAC). Bisi turned in a solid performance, pitching seven innings while allowing two runs on six hits to along with four strikeouts.

The Saints (12-4, 7-0 PAC) struck first in game one, using a two-run double in the top of the second to take an early 2-0 lead. Bisi didn't give up another run, throwing five scoreless innings after the second.

The Bison offense threatened throughout the contest and they were rewarded in the fifth inning. Zack Miller (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) singled to left to start the inning before John Lee (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) drove him in with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1. Thomas More, however, managed to get out of the inning as the Bison stranded two base runners.

Bethany put the pressure on the Saints again in the sixth inning. Kevin Marthinsen (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) led off the inning with a double to deep right before moving to second on a fielder's choice from Jake Stemmerich (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe). Once again, Thomas More retired the next two batters and ended the Bison threat.

The Saints defense held in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the 2-1 victory in game one.

Lee led the Bison offense as he went 2-for-2 with an RBI. Ben Gavlik (Hong Kong/Hong Kong International) added a base hit as well.

In the second contest, the Bison found themselves trailing early after Thomas More scored one run on one hit in the first inning. The Saints added to their lead in the top of the third, totaling three runs on five hits to take a 4-0 advantage.

Bethany's offense struggled to string multiple hits together and was held in check early by the Saints pitching.

Thomas More extended their lead throughout the contest, taking a 10-0 lead after a three-run homer in the sixth.

The Bison got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning, using a leadoff double from Lee to start the late rally. Bisi followed with an infield single and Marthinsen was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Stemmerich earned an RBI with a sacrifice fly and Neil Woods (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) drove in Bisi on a fielder's choice, cutting the deficit to 10-2.

In the seventh, Bethany made some noise before an inning-ending double play helped Thomas More get out of trouble and hang on for the 10-2 victory.

Junior Cody Gross started on the mound for the Bison, allowing five runs in 3 1/3 innings of work while striking out three batters. Alex Fenstermaker (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland), Tyler Frazee (Markleysburg, Pa./Uniontown), and Joe Hoffman (Allson Park, Pa./Deer Lakes) all saw time on the mound as well.

Offensively, Lee collected two more hits to give him a total of four on the day.

The Bethany baseball squad will return to action on Tuesday, April 12 when they welcome Waynesburg University for a 3 p.m. start.