Bethany defeats Coast Guard, Becker at PFX Spring Games

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

CLERMONT, Fla. (March 13) - Behind a pair of great pitching performances, the Bethany College softball team remained unbeaten at the PFX Spring Games with wins over Coast Guard and Becker Tuesday afternoon at Legends Way.

THE MATCHUPS

• Game 1 Final: Bethany 4, Coast Guard 3 (Box Score)
• Game 2 Final: Bethany 4, Becker 3 (Box Score)
• Records: Bethany 4-0 | Coast Guard 4-1 | Becker 2-4
• Location: Legends Way | Clermont, Florida

GAME 1: Bethany 4, Coast Guard 3

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was a pitcher's duel early on between senior Cassie Weiss (Taylorstown, Pa./McGuffey) and the Coast Guard's Julia Ferris. Weiss held the Bears without a hit until a fourth inning single, while Ferris limited the Bison to only three scattered hits through four innings.
• Coast Guard threatened in the top of the fifth with runners on the corners, but a Weiss strikeout ended the inning and kept the game scoreless.
• Bethany took advantage of two miscues to break through with four runs in the fifth inning. The Bison had one on and one out when consecutive batters reached on an error and a dropped third-strike to load the bases.
• Sophomore Kayla Dinsmore (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) drove in all three runners with a base-hit and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by classmate Tyra Bell (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) to give the Bison a 4-0 lead after five innings.
• The Bears put runners on the corners with one out in the sixth inning, but Weiss managed to escape the jam unscathed with a strikeout and a pop-up to the catcher in foul territory to end the threat.
• Coast Guard finally broke through with four-straight hits to start the seventh inning to make the score 4-2.
• A pop-up and a sacrifice bunt put Weiss and the Bison one out away from victory, but a third run came across and the game-tying run was at third base.
• Weiss for the third-time in the game stranded a runner at third base by forcing a fly ball into center field to clinch the Bethany win.

TEAM LEADERS

• Weiss (2-0) held Coast Guard to three runs on seven hits with 11 strikeouts in a complete-game effort to earn the win.
• Dinsmore finished 2-for-3 with a double, three RBI and a run scored to lead the offense. 

GAME 2: Bethany 4, Becker 2

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Bison jumped on top early in the game with a three-run first inning. Senior Ashley Narigon (Washington, Pa./McGuffey), freshman Rachel Payton (St. Mary's, W.Va./St. Mary's) and senior Jazz Fuqua (Washington, Pa./Trinity) all connected on RBI base hits in the frame.
• Senior pitcher Sam Binkley (Kenilworth, Ontario/St. James) limited Becker to a trio of scattered singles through three innings.
• The Hawks managed to plate a pair of runs in the fourth inning on a run-scoring triple and a throwing error to cut Bethany's lead to 3-2.
• Payton helped the Bison get one of those runs back in the fifth inning, when she delivered a sacrifice fly that scored junior Emily Folk (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) to rebuild Bethany's lead to 4-2.
• Binkley shut the door on Becker from there. She held the Hawks without a hit over the final three innings and yielded only a two-out walk in the seventh inning to help the Bison win their fourth-straight to open the season. 

TEAM LEADERS

• Binkley (2-0) went the distance and held Becker to two runs (one earned) on four hits with six strikeouts to pick up the win in the circle.
• Payton led the offense with two RBI, while fellow freshman Gabby Capaldi (Steubenville, Ohio/Catholic Central) finished with two hits in the win.

UP NEXT:

• Bethany will play against FDU-Florham at 9 a.m. and wrap-up the first half of the trip with an 11:30 a.m. game versus Suffolk at Hancock Park.
• Both games will have live statistics to follow, courtesy of those schools.
• Check the schedule page for links to live stats for both games.