Baseball earns split with Thomas More

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

WASHINGTON, Pa. (April 6) - The Bethany College baseball team played to a split versus Thomas More Friday afternoon. The Bison dropped the opener 11-1, before claiming a 4-1 win in game two in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader.

THE MATCHUP

• Game 1 Final: Thomas More 11, Bethany 1 (Box Score)
• Game 2 Final: Bethany 4, Thomas More 1 (Box Score)
• Records: Bethany 5-14, 2-4 PAC | Thomas More 8-11, 5-3 PAC
• Location: Ross Memorial Park | Washington, Pennsylvania

GAME 1: Thomas More 11, Bethany 1

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Bison set down the Saints in order in the first inning, but Thomas More produced a trio of two-run innings to build a 6-0 lead.
• Bethany got on the board in the sixth inning. Senior Kelaen Welch (Follansbee, W.Va./Brooke) led the inning off with a double and advanced to third on a single from sophomore Kevin Marthinsen (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair), before a sacrifice fly by freshman Kyle Goodwin (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg) drove in the run.
• Thomas More had a triple in each of the final three innings and tacked on five more runs to close out the win. 

GAME NOTES

• Junior Nick Gross (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) was tagged with the loss on the mound. Gross (2-4) allowed seven runs on 11 hits over seven innings of work with three strikeouts (zero walks.)
• Welch, Marthinsen and junior Brandon Wagner (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) each finished with two hits in the loss.

GAME 2: Bethany 4, Thomas More 1

HOW IT HAPPENED

• A fantastic pitching performance from sophomore pitcher Isaac Wengert (Jonestown, Pa./Northern Lebanon) helped propel the Bison to a 4-1 win in game two to take a split.
• Neither team could string any hits together, until the fourth inning when Thomas More had runners at first and third with no outs.
• Wengert managed to escape unscathed after he forced an infield pop-up and a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play.
• The Bison gave Wengert some support in the bottom half of the fourth.
• Welch, who made a catch at the wall in the first to prevent extra-bases, tripled to lead off the fourth and scored on a wild pitch to give Bethany a 1-0 lead.
• The Bison added a second run when senior Andrew Gilliland (Gahanna, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) reached on a throwing error that scored Marthensen from third base to make the score 2-0.
• Thomas More got a two-out triple in the fifth inning, but once again Wengert kept the Saints off of the board by forcing a line drive to junior center fielder John Lee (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington).
• Wengert found himself in another jam in the sixth inning. Thomas More led the inning off with a single, before another double play cleared the bases. The next Saints batter doubled to bring the tying-run to the plate, but a groundout to third ended the threat.
• After the first two Bison were retired in order to start the bottom of the sixth inning, Bethany loaded the bases with a trio of singles. Senior Jacob Miller (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North) kept the inning going with a two-out, two-RBI single to push the Bison lead to 4-0 and chase Thomas More starting pitcher Brandon Eliadis.
• The Saints finally broke through with a run in the seventh inning, but Wengert managed to strand another runner at third base to keep the Bison ahead 4-1.
• Wengert limited Thomas More to one hit over the final two innings, including a ninth inning where he retired the side in order to close out the win.

GAME NOTES

• Wengert improved to 2-3 this season after yielding just one run on 10 hits with four strikeouts in the complete-game (92 pitches) win. He did not issue any walks.
• Several Bison had a base-hit in the game, including senior Ryan Nickerson (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) who had three hits in the win. 

UP NEXT:

• Bethany has tomorrow off before heading to Greenville, Pennsylvania to make-up its doubleheader at Thiel at 1 p.m.
• Fans can watch online here.