Bethany wraps up third day at PFX Spring Games

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

CLERMONT, Fla. (March 13) – The Bethany College Bison are off to a 1-5 after three days of competition while in Florida at the PFX Spring Games.

The Bison picked up a 5-1 win over New England College Sunday morning and have dropped contests to Ohio Northern, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Olivet, SUNY Geneseo and Fredonia. The Green & White have faced tough competition at the PFX Games, as the combined record of their opponents currently stands at 35-24.

Saturday, March 11 (Game 1): Ohio Northern 1, Bethany 0 (Box Score)

The Bison received a strong pitching performance from junior Cassie Weiss (Avella, Pa./McGuffey) in the season-opening game, but were defeated 1-0 by Ohio Northern Saturday afternoon.

Weiss held the Polar Bears to one run on five hits with a pair of strikeouts over 6.2 innings of work. Ohio Northern, a perennial-power in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), pushed a run across with a pair of singles in the bottom of the seventh to claim the walk-off win.

Offensively, the Bison were held to one hit, a leadoff single in the first inning by freshman Erica Amoroso (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon), and left six runners on base.

Saturday, March 11 (Game 2): Rochester Institute of Technology 6, Bethany 1 (Box Score)

Bethany entered the fourth inning tied with RIT, but the Tigers scored five-unanswered runs to send the Bison to a 6-1 loss late Saturday night.

RIT took the lead in top of the first inning, but the Bison took advantage of a throwing error that scored sophomore Sammie Weiss (Avella, Pa./McGuffey) to knot the score at 1-1 after one inning played.

After a pair of scoreless innings, RIT returned the favor in the fourth inning by taking advantage of a Bison miscue that allowed two runs to score. The Tigers added insurance runs in the sixth inning to help secure the win.

Junior pitcher Sam Binkley (Kenilworth, Ontario/ St. James) went the distance, yielding six runs (four earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts over 7.0 innings of work.

Weiss and senior Sarah Coss (Bowie, Md./Bishop McNamara) each notched base hits for the Bison in the game.

Sunday, March 12 (Game 1): Bethany 5, New England College 1 (Box Score)

Pitcher Cassie Weiss struck out 12 and limited New England College to four hits in Bethany's 5-1 win over the Pilgrams.

The Green & White gave Weiss an early lead. Sammie Weiss, Cassie's younger sister, singled and stole second base in the first inning, before Sarah Coss delivered a RBI-triple to bring the younger Weiss home.

New England tied the game at 1-1 in the third, but neither team was able to drive in any runs in the fourth and fifth frames.

Bethany put runners on the corners with one out in the sixth inning, when Erica Amoroso laid down a bunt to score the go-ahead run. The ensuing throw at the plate got away from the catcher and allowed the runner from first to also score on the play to make the score 3-1.

The next batter, Sammie Weiss, also took advantage of a Pilgram miscue. She reached on a throwing error by the New England catcher that allowed Amoroso to score and came all the way around to score herself to give Bethany a 5-1 lead.

Cassie Weiss closed the door in the seventh inning, inducing a 6-4-3 double-play to secure the first win of the season for the Bison.

Weiss picked up the win after holding the Pilgrams to one run on four hits with 12 strikeouts in a complete-game effort.

Coss led the Bison at the plate with three hits, including a triple, and an RBI.

Sunday, March 12 (Game 2): Olivet 3, Bethany 0 (Box Score)

Five different Bison collected base hits, but Bethany was unable to plate any runs in a 3-0 loss to Olivet Sunday morning.

The game was scoreless heading into the third inning when the Bison had two runners on with two outs. Despite junior Aubrey Baehr (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley) reaching on an error, the Comet first baseman managed to recover and throw out Erica Amoroso, who was trying to score from second base, to keep the game tied.

Olivet loaded the bases in the bottom of the third and scored once, but pitcher Sam Binkley limited the damage with an inning-ending strikeout to strand runners on each base.

The Comets filled the bases again in the fourth inning and scored a pair of runs on a single to right field to extend their lead to three runs, while holding the Bison off of the scoreboard in the game.

The Bison had a runner on third base three times in the contest, but were unable to plate any runs.

Binkley was tagged with the loss for the Bison. She held the Comet offense to one run (zero earned) on two hits with five strikeouts over 3.0 innings in the circle.

Five different players recorded base hits, including a double by catcher Sarah Coss in the loss.

Monday, March 13 (Game 1): SUNY Geneseo 4, Bethany 0 (Box Score)

The Bison were unable to push any runs across in their 4-0 loss to SUNY Geneseo to open play on Monday.

Bethany had multiple scoring chances in the game, but were unable to capitalize. The Bison had runners on second and third with one out in the first inning of a scoreless game, but stranded both after Geneseo pitcher Alexis Kidder forced back-to-back infield outs. The Bison also had a scoring opportunity in the fifth inning but stranded junior Jazz Fuqua (Washington, Pa./Trinity) after she reached third base with a two-out triple.

The Knights notched a run in the third inning and added insurance runs in the sixth to secure the win.

Bethany pitcher Cassie Weiss was saddled with the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in the game.

Monday, March 13 (Game 2): Fredonia 2, Bethany 1 (Box Score)

Bethany was edged 2-1 by Fredonia in the team's second game on Monday.

Neither team could push across a run until Fredonia got on the board with a pair of two-out runs in the sixth inning to take a 2-0 lead.

The Bison were down to their final three outs, but a leadoff single by Sammie Weiss and a one-out double by Sarah Coss pulled Bethany within one run with the tying runner on second base. Unfortunately, the Bison were unable to drive in the tying run and dropped another close game.

Weiss was the team's top hitter, reaching base on all four plate appearances with three hits and a walk drawn. Coss finished with a pair of hits and knocked in the team's lone run.

Sam Binkley pitched all six innings for the Bison and held the Blue Devils to two runs (one earned) on five hits with seven strikeouts in the game.

The Bison will have a day off tomorrow, before returning to the field on Wednesday, March 15 for games against Ohio Wesleyan (8 a.m.) and Plattsburgh State (12 p.m.). Neither game will have live coverage, so stay tuned to BethanyBison.com or follow the Bison (@Bethany_Bison) for updates.