Bison take tough-luck loss to Pitt.-Greensburg, 6-5

Steve Janik, Assistant Sports Information Director 

BETHANY, W.Va. (Mar. 23) - The Bethany College baseball team fell to Pitt-Greensburg, 6-5, after the Bobcats scored a run in a tie ballgame in the top of the ninth to take the single non-conference game on Thursday afternoon.

With the loss, Bethany falls to 5-7-1 on the year, while UPG improves to 5-3 on the season.

Sophmore pitcher Nick Gross (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) started on the bump for Bethany and went 7.1 innings and allowed three earned runs, while scattering 10 hits and striking out two to pick up a no-decision.

Offensively, Jacob Miller (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North) paced the Bison, going 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Brandon Wagner (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) finished 2-for-2 with three walks and a run scored, while also swiping four bags. Neil Woods (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) also added multiple hits, including an RBI double. As a team, the Bison drew five walks and stole six bases.

After a back-and-forth game, the Bobcats started off the top of the ninth inning with a single before Vinnie Shoff hit a double down the right field line, scoring the runner all the way from first. The Bison were unable to answer in the bottom half.

The first two innings breezed through for both sides in what started as a pitcher's duel. In the top of the third the Bobcats took advantage of two Bison errors and chipped away with base hits to take the early 4-0 lead.

The hosts had a quick answer in the bottom half, manufacturing a run on a sac-fly by Zack Miller (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin), scoring Saige Micomonaco (Middletown, Ohio/Madison) but that was all they could rally.

The score sat at 4-1 in favor of UPG until the latter half of the 7th inning when the Bison exploded for 4 runs to take their first lead of the game at 5-4. 

Woods got the engine started, roping a double down the left-field line scoring Wagner. Moments later, with Zack Miller on third, a wild pitch brought him home to setup Jacob Miller's single to left that scored Woods. the left fielder misplayed the ball, allowing Miller to move up to second. Miller eventually scored, on an error by the UPG third baseman to give The Green and White the lead.

The very next frame, Ryan Dodson connected on a pitch, sending over the left field fence to tie the game at five and forcing Gross from the game for Isaac Wengert (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) to take over on the hill.

The Bison take the weekend off before starting Presidents' Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, March 28, when they travel to Grove City for a doubleheader slated to start at 1 p.m.