Stellar Pitching Leads Bison Softball to Doubleheader Sweep

March 7 – CLERMONT, Fla. – The Bethany College softball team swept a doubleheader against Gordon College and Monmouth College (Ill.) on Monday morning. The Bison cruised to a 13-0 victory over Gordon before holding on for a 2-1 win over Monmouth.

Sophomore Gabrielle Goudy (Powhatan Point, Ohio/River) earned her first victory as a Bison as she hurled a two-hit shutout against Gordon College (0-1). Goudy struck out eight, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning before allowing a single with one out.

The Bison (4-2) offense provided Goudy with a large lead early in the contest, scoring seven runs on five hits in the bottom of the first inning. 

Ashlee Brill (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) started the offensive outburst with a single, eventually scoring after Ashley Narigon (Washington, Pa./McGuffey) singled back up the middle. Sarah Coss (Bowie, Md./Bishop McNamara) added a base hit of her own, driving in Deanna Mihalco (Patterson, N.Y./Brewster).

With three runners on base and two outs, Kayla Kelly (Pasadena, Md./Institute of Notre Dame) drove a ball to deep center field, clearing the bases and giving Bethany an early 7-0 advantage.

Bethany added to their lead in the third inning, scoring four runs on four hits. T.J. Solomon (Beltsville, Md./Elizabeth Seton) and Jasmine Fuqua (Washington, Pa./Trinity) both singled before Mihalco provided a clutch hit to drive in two runs. 

The Bison offense didn't stop there, totaling two more runs in the fourth inning. Junior Kylee Clark (Heath, Ohio/Lakewood) drove in Samantha Newfrock (Endwell, N.Y./Endicott) and Emily Folk (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) with a double to left center, making it 13-0.

Kelly led the Green & White with four RBIs, while Mihalco, Fuqua and Coss recorded two hits, each. 

In the second game, sophomore Cassie Weiss (Washington, Pa./McGuffey) pitched a complete game against Monmouth (1-2), allowing just one run in seven innings of work. Weiss struck out four Fighting Scots' batters and threw six consecutive scoreless innings.

Bethany once again got on the scoreboard in the first inning. Brill and Mihalco had back-to-back singles before Coss drove a ball to left field that was dropped by a Monmouth outfielder. Both runs came around to score as Bethany jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the inning, Monmouth responded with a run of their own. Weiss was able to leave a runner stranded in scoring position, striking out a batter and inducing a ground out to the second baseman.

While Bethany's offense stalled over the next few innings, Weiss and the Bison defense never let the game slip away. Even after starting the fourth inning with the only error committed by the Green & White, the defense stepped up and never allowed the runner to cross home. 

Weiss put together a perfect seventh inning as she forced a grounder and two fly balls to put the game away and secure the 2-1 victory.

The Bison will return to action on Wednesday, March 9 for a doubleheader with Wheaton College (Ill.) and Wesleyan University. The games are slated for 1 and 3 p.m. start times.