Stemmerich's Walk-Off Winner Highlights Bison Baseball's Split with Monmouth

March 10 – FORT PIERCE, Fla. – Highlighted by a 3-2 walk off victory in the late game of a double header, the Bethany College baseball team (3-3) split a pair of games with Monmouth on Thursday evening. Bethany dropped the first game 4-0, before winning game two on a walk-off RBI from freshman Jacob Stemmerich (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe).

Game one saw a pitchers duel early as both junior Joe Giles (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) and Monmouth's starting pitcher hung matching zeros through the first five innings. The fighting Scots broke through in the bottom of the sixth inning, striking for all four runs in the frame to provide the difference. 

Giles pitched 5.1 innings in his second start, allowing the four runs while striking out three and walking two. Senior Joe Hoffman (Allison Park, Pa./Deer Lakes) also made his first appearance on the mound, pitching 2/3 of an inning, striking out both batters he faced. 

Offensively, the Bison received an extra-base hit from Ryan Nickerson (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) as well as singles from both Adam Becker (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) and Zack Miller (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin).

The trio of Becker, Nickerson and Miller combined for the first run of the game in the night cap between the two squads, as the Green & White put up the first run in the fourth inning. Becker led off the frame with a single, and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Nickerson. Miller then brought Becker home to give Bethany the 1-0 advantage. 

Monmouth regained the advantage in the following two innings, striking for a single run in both frames to take a 2-1 lead heading into the seventh. 

With one out recorded in the seventh inning, the Green & White were able to load the bases, getting a base hit and a pair of walks. Sage Micomonaco (Middletown, Ohio/Madison) then drove in the trying run with a RBI groundout to knot the game at 2-2. 

Following an intentional walk to Miller, which once again loaded the bases, Stemmerich showed patience at the plate, drawing a four-pitch walk to drive in the game-winning run, pulling the Bison's record to 3-3 on the season. 

Junior pitcher Cody Gross (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) put together his second-straight stellar pitching performance, tallying a complete-game victory. He went the distance on just 81 pitches, allowing two earned on six hits while striking out eight and not issuing a free pass.

The Green & White will complete their eight-game trip to Fort Pierce, Fla. with a doubleheader against Marywood University on Friday afternoon. The games are scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.