Bethany splits doubleheader at Muskingum

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

NEW CONCORD, Ohio (March 25) - The Bethany College baseball team earned a split at Muskingum Sunday afternoon. The Bison held off a late rally to defeat the Muskies 7-5 in game one, before falling 7-6 in game two.

THE MATCHUP

• Game 1 Final: Bethany 7, Muskingum 5 (Box Score)
• Game 2 Final: Muskingum 7, Bethany 6 (Box Score)
• Records: Bethany 3-9 | Muskingum 9-8
• Location: Mose Morehead Field | New Concord, Ohio

GAME 1: Bethany 7, Muskingum 5

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Bison held off a final inning rally by Muskingum to earn the 7-5 game one win.
• Junior Neil Woods (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) gave Bethany a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a two-out single.
• Bethany broke the game open with four runs on four hits, including a trio of two-out RBI hits following a dropped third strike.
• Muskingum appeared to end the inning when junior John Lee (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) struck out with two outs, but the ball rolled away from the Muskie catcher to allow the inning to continue.
• Senior Kelaen Welch (Follansbee, W.Va./Brooke) and sophomore Kevin Marthinsen (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) made Muskingum pay with RBI singles to give Bethany a 3-0 lead.
• Both runners would score when junior Tyler Frazee (Markleysburg, Pa./Uniontown) smacked a two-RBI double to left center field to increase the Bison lead to five runs.
• After two scoreless frames, Bethany took advantage of a trio of Muskingum miscues to take a 6-0 lead in the fifth inning.
• Senior Jacob Miller (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North) was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on two wild pitches, and scored on a passed ball.
• Bethany tacked on another insurance run with the help of another dropped third strike that would have ended the sixth inning.
• With two out and a runner on second, Frazee swung and missed for strike three, but reached base when they ball got away from the Muskie catcher. The next batter, Woods, took advantage of the extra out and delivered his second RBI hit of the game to make the score 7-0.
• Junior pitcher Nick Gross (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny), who had limited Muskingum to zero runs on three hits through six innings, came on in the seventh seeking the complete-game win. Unfortunately, three of the first-four batters reached base, including a two-run home run, to chase Gross and put the game in the hands of the bullpen.
• Muskingum managed to make the score 7-3 when the Bison called on Woods to try and earn the save.
• Woods recorded the second out of the inning, but a single up the middle drove in two more runs to make the score 7-5.
• Muskingum got another base-hit to bring the potential go-ahead run to the plate, but Woods forced a fly out to close out the game.

GAME NOTES

• Gross improved to 1-3 this season after going 6.1 innings, while limiting Muskingum to three runs on six hits with five strikeouts (zero walks).
• Woods finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI and earned the final two outs to claim his second save of the season.
• Welch ended the contest with one hit, a RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base.

GAME 2: Muskingum 8, Bethany 7

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In a back-and-forth game that saw six lead changes, the Bison were upended by the Muskies 8-7 to close out the doubleheader.
• Muskingum scored twice in the first inning to take the lead, but Bethany answered back with two runs in the second to tie the game.
• Senior Ryan Nickerson (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) led the inning off with a walk. Miller batted a ball to the third baseman, who threw the ball away, allowing Nickerson to score from first and move Miller all the way to third base.
• Senior catcher Matt Cavanaugh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seneca Valley) came to the plate next and tied the game up with an RBI-ground out that was cleanly thrown to first.
• Muskingum reclaimed the lead with a two-out RBI-double, but the Bison manufactured a run in the top of the third to tie the game once again.
• Welch led the inning off with a single and stole second base. After moving to third on a second single, Welch scored when Woods hit into a fielders choice with one out to tie the game at 3-3.
• The Muskies managed to plate two more runs in the fourth inning to reclaim the lead, but once again, the Bison rallied to tie the game.
• Back-to-back singles and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out. Bethany then got an RBI-groundout by Frazee and a RBI-single by Woods to draw even at 5-5.
• Muskingum left runners on second and third in the bottom of the fifth, opening the door for Bethany to take its first lead.
• The Bison had runners on second and third with two outs, when senior Andrew Gilliland (Gahanna, Ohio/Bishop Harley) reached on an error by the second baseman, allowing the go-ahead run to come across and make the score 6-5.
• Muskingum scored the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth when Muskie center fielder Ben Van Wey delivered a two-run home run with one out.
• Bethany threatened when Woods and senior Nate Marko (McKees Rocks, Pa./OLSH) were each hit by pitches with two outs.
• Woods advanced to third on a failed pick-off attempt at second base, but a ground out ended the game to send the Bison to a split.

GAME NOTES

• Sophomore pitcher Isaac Wengert (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) went five innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits with five strikeouts to take a no-decision.
• Welch ended the second game with two hits, two runs scored and a stolen base, while Woods drove in two runs in the loss. 

UP NEXT:

• Bethany is back on the diamond tomorrow, Monday, March 26 when they travel to take on Pitt.-Greensburg for a single-game at 3 p.m.
• Live stats for the game will be available here.