Bison Softball Falls Twice to Capital
March 30 – COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Bethany College softball team dropped a pair of games to Capital University on Wednesday afternoon. The Bison were defeated in extra innings, 3-2, after falling in the opening contest, 10-1.
Sophomore Samantha Binkley (Ontario, Canada/St. James) got the start on the mound for Bethany (6-12) in the second game of the doubleheader. Binkley didn't allow an earned run in the entire contest as she threw 8 1/3 innings, conceding nine hits and three unearned runs while striking out two.
The Bison offense provided an early lead for Binkley, scoring in the second inning to take a 1-0 advantage.
Kylee Clark (Heath, Ohio/Lakewood) started off the inning with a single before advancing to third base on consecutive groundouts. The junior then came around to score on a passed ball to take the one-run lead.
Bethany added another run in the fourth as Clark once again singled to start the Bison rally. Jasmine Fuqua (Washington ,Pa./Trinity) replaced Clark at first after reaching on a fielder's choice, and a double from Ashley Narigon (Washington, Pa./McGuffey) drove in Fuqua to make it 2-0.
Binkley held Capital (11-9) scoreless over the first five innings. The Crusaders finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning, totaling two runs on one hit and two errors from the Bison.
The Green & White threatened in the seventh inning after Kayla Kelly (Pasadena, Md./Institute of Notre Dame) and Ashlee Brill (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) both singled with two outs. A groundout ended the frame for the Bison, stranding both runners and forcing Bethany's defense to come up with three outs to send the contest into extras.
As she had done all game, Binkley retired three-straight Crusader batters and gave Bethany another opportunity at the dish.
The Bison loaded in the bases in their first at bats in the eighth inning but once again failed to produce any runs after a groundout ended the inning.
In the ninth inning, Capital finally broke the 2-2 tie. The Crusaders used two hits and an error to score one run, giving them the one-run victory (3-2).
Offensively, Bethany totaled seven hits as Kelly and Clark each totaled two. Kelly also walked twice in the game.
In the opener, the Bison scored in their first at bats to take a 1-0 lead. Deanna Mihalco (Patterson, N.Y./Brewster) drew a walk with two outs, eventually scoring from third as Fuqua was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Capital managed to tie the contest in the second inning before slowly building a decisive advantage over the Bison. The Crusaders put up one run in both the third and fourth innings before erupting for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth.
The Bison had three errors in the inning while Capital amassed four hits in the frame. A grand slam ended the game in the fifth inning as the Crusaders took an 10-1 lead over the Bison to put the eight-run rule into effect.
Sophomore Cassie Weiss (Washington, Pa./McGuffey) pitched for Bethany, allowing three earned runs over 4 2/3 innings of work.
Clark collected two hits to lead the Green & White, while Mihalco added a base knock of her own as well.
The Bethany College softball team will be back in action on Saturday, April 2 when they open conference play against Washington & Jefferson at 1:00 p.m.
