Bethany Baseball Drops a Pair to Waynesburg

April 6 – WAYNESBURG, Pa. – The Bethany College baseball team dropped a pair of Presidents' Athletic Conference contests to Waynesburg University on Wednesday afternoon. The Bison were defeated in the opener, 5-1, before falling 5-4 late in game two.

In game one, freshman Nick Gross (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) started on the hill for Bethany (6-13, 3-5 PAC). Gross held the Yellow Jackets scoreless over the first four innings of the game.

The Bison offense managed to take the lead in the second inning, scoring one run on one hit in the inning. Matt Shaffer (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) led off with a single to right field before stealing second to move into scoring position. Shaffer then advanced to third on a wild pitch and was driven in on a sacrifice fly from Ben Gavlik (Hong Kong/Hong Kong International).

Gross kept the Yellow Jacket hitters at bay until the fifth inning, allowing just two hits in four frames. The freshman lasted 5 2/3 innings, yielding two earned runs on seven hits with a strikeout.

Waynesburg (4-15, 2-3 PAC) managed to score twice in the fifth, using one hit and two errors to take a 2-1 advantage.

The Yellow Jackets added to their lead in their next at bats, amassing three runs on four hits in the sixth. Waynesburg used three singles that each drove in a run to make it 5-1. Freshman Hunter Kashke (Moundsville, W. Va./Bishop Donahue) came on in relief for the Bison, inducing a groundout from the only batter he faced.

The Green & White offense remained dormant throughout the middle portion of the game until they put together a small rally in the seventh inning. Shaffer once again led off with a single while Ryan Nickerson (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) collected a base hit of his own with one out. Waynesburg, however, retired the next two batters, holding on for 5-1 victory.

Offensively, Shaffer led the Bison with two hits. Adam Becker (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) and Jacob Stemmerich (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) each added a hit as well.

In the second game of the doubleheader, Bethany took another early lead with a run in the top of the second. Becker doubled to right center with two outs, driving in Shaffer who walked to lead off the frame.

The Yellow Jackets responded in the bottom of the inning, stringing together two hits to go along with a Bison error to make it 2-1.

Bethany tied the contest in the fifth inning after John Lee (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) tripled to right center with one out. Zach Schlotter (Twinsburg, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) wasted no time driving in his teammate as he singled to left field to score Lee and draw even with Waynesburg at 2-2.

The Bison kept their momentum going in the sixth, collecting three hits to score twice and take a two-run lead. Kevin Marthinsen (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) led off with a homer to left field before Shaffer restarted the offense with a single up the middle. With two outs, Becker came up with the clutch hit to score pinch runner Kelaen Welch (Follansbee, W. Va./Brooke) and give Bethany a 4-2 lead.

Waynesburg cut the deficit to one in their at bats in the bottom of the frame. The Yellow Jackets collected one run on four hits while stranding two base runners.

Bethany headed into the seventh inning with a 4-3 advantage over the hosts. After failing to add any insurance in the top, starting pitcher Joe Giles (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) remained on the mound for the Bison. The junior pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing five runs to go along with five strikeouts.

After Giles struck out the first batter, Waynesburg started to put some pressure on the Bison defense. The Yellow Jackets tied the game with a single to right before Bethany intentionally walked a batter to load the bases. The next batter singled to left field, scoring the game-winning run and giving Waynesburg a 5-4 victory.

Becker finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead the Bison offense as the Green & White collected six hits in the game.

The Bethany College baseball team will be back in action on Saturday, April 9 when they host Thomas More for doubleheader set for 1:00 p.m.