Softball rallies to sweep Washington & Jefferson

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

BETHANY, W.Va. (April 2) – The Bison completed a two-game sweep of Washington & Jefferson with wins by scores of 4-0 and 4-3 Sunday afternoon.

The Bethany College softball team improves to 8-12 overall, 2-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). Meanwhile, the Presidents fall to 1-10 overall, 0-2 in league play.

GAME 1: Bethany 4, Washington & Jefferson 0

Behind a complete-game shutout by junior pitcher Cassie Weiss (Avella, Pa./McGuffey), the Bison picked up a 4-0 win over W&J in game one.

Weiss (6-6) limited the Presidents to six hits while striking out 10 and issuing zero walks. She stranded 10 runners in the game, while keeping W&J off of the scoreboard.

The Bison got on the board early when a sacrifice fly by senior Sarah Coss (Bowie, Md./Bishop McNamara) gave Bethany a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Coss went on to extend the lead in the third with an RBI-double to push the lead to 2-0.

The Bison took advantage of an error by the W&J right fielder to add two more runs in the fourth. Freshman Erica Amoroso (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) singled and advanced to third when the ball went through the legs of the right fielder, allowing junior Jazz Fuqua (Washington, Pa./Trinity) to score. Amoroso then came in to score on a RBI-single by freshman Sammie Weiss (Avella, Pa./McGuffey) to put the Bison ahead 4-0.

Amoroso and Sammie Weiss each finished the game with two hits, while Coss drove in two runs to lead the Bison batters.

GAME 2: Bethany 4, Washington & Jefferson 3

The Bison rallied from behind to earn a 4-3 win in game two to complete the sweep.

Washington & Jefferson scored three runs in the first inning, but game two starting pitcher Cassie Weiss stranded the bases loaded to limited the damage.

The Bison plated a pair of runs in the third inning with the help of two W&J errors. Fuqua singled and  advanced to second on an errant throw to begin the inning. She then came around to score on another bad throw by the Presidents' on a sacrifice bunt by Amoroso. Amoroso managed to score the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by junior Aubrey Baehr (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley) to cut the W&J lead to 3-2.

Bethany tied the game in the fourth and scored the eventual game-winning run in the fifth. Sophomore Emily Folk (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) delivered an RBI-double to tie the game, while a RBI-single by Sammie Weiss pushed across the go-ahead run to complete the comeback.

Bethany relief pitcher Sam Binkley (Kenilworth, Ontario/St. James) shut the door on the Presidents and held them to just one hit over the final four innings to preserve the lead and give the Bison the sweep.

Binkley (2-6) earned the win after holding W&J scoreless over 4.0 innings of work with one hit and three strikeouts.

Amoroso and Fuqua each had two base hits to lead the Bison at the plate, with Amoroso scoring two of the team's runs.

The Bison are back on the diamond on Tuesday, April 4 when they host Chatham for a PAC doubleheader at 3:30 p.m.