Bison dealt a pair of one-run losses by Waynesburg

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

BETHANY, W.Va. (April 14) – The Bison were handed a pair of one-run losses by Waynesburg, falling 1-0 and 10-9 at Bison Field Friday evening.

The Bethany College softball team falls to 12-16 overall, 6-4 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) standings. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets improve to 11-16-1 this season, 5-5 in league play.

GAME 1: Waynesburg 1, Bethany 0

In a pitcher's duel in game one, the Yellow Jackets scraped together a run on a sacrifice fly to pick up a 1-0 win over the Bison to open play on Friday.

Bethany's Cassie Weiss (Avella, Pa./McGuffey) and Waynesburg's Courtney Messenger rolled through the first five innings, with both pitchers holding their opponents to one hit, apiece.

The Yellow Jackets broke through in the sixth inning with a run on a sacrifice fly to take the lead and held off the Bison in the final two frames. Bethany had runners on base in both innings, but did not capitalize.

Weiss took the loss after limiting the Yellow Jackets to one run on three hits in a complete-game effort. She added three strikeouts to her final line. Messenger earned the win after holding the Bison lineup to two hits over seven innings of work.

GAME 2: Bethany 10, Waynesburg 9

The Bison scored the game's first nine runs, but a late rally by the Yellow Jackets propelled Waynesburg to a 10-9 win in game two.

The Bison scored four runs in the second inning and five in the third to chase Messenger, who was coming off of the complete-game shutout in game one. Sophomore Emily Folk (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) and junior Aubrey Baehr (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley) each contributed two-RBI singles in the second inning to help the Bison take a 4-0 lead.

Bethany kept the pressure on in the third with five more runs. Sophomore Francesca Capaldi (Steubenville, Ohio/Catholic Central) started the inning off with a RBI-single, before freshman Sammie Weiss (Avella, Pa./McGuffey) came up with the bases loaded and delivered a bases-clearing double to extend the Bison lead to 9-0 after three innings played.

Waynesburg began to make noise with three runs in the fourth and a run in the fifth to make the score 9-3 heading into the sixth inning.

The Yellow Jackets exploded in the sixth, tallying six runs to take a 10-9 lead.

The Green & White had chances in the final two innings to tie, but were unable to come up with a big hit. Bethany stranded runners in scoring position in both innings with two outs to end the game.

Freshman Erica Amoroso (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) led the Bison with a 4-for-5 effort with two runs scored. Both Baehr and Sammie Weiss finished with identical lines, as both had two hits and three RBI, while Folk added two hits and two RBI in the loss.

The Bison are back on the road on Wednesday, April 19 when they head to Greenville, Pennsylvania to take on Thiel for a PAC doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m.