April 6 – BETHANY, W. Va. – Led by a two-homer game from junior Deanna Mihalco (Patterson, N.Y./Brewster), the Bethany College softball team split a pair of Presidents' Athletic Conference games with Waynesburg University on Monday afternoon. The Bison took game one, 6-1, before falling by a 3-0 score in the second contest.
The top of the Bison order provided the spark the Green & White needed in the first game of the doubleheader, as the first three hitters in the order combined to hit five-of-nine at the plate with six RBI and four runs scored.
Ashlee Brill (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster), who totaled two hits on the day, picked up her first by leading off the bottom of the third with a base hit. After a sacrifice bunt by Jessica Kusnierz (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) moved Brill to second, Kayla Kelly (Pasadena, Md./Institute of Notre Dame) brought her home with a RBI double to center field to give the Green & White a 1-0 advantage. The next batter was Mihalco, who helped the Bison plate two more runs in a hurry, taking a two-two count over the right-center field fence for a two-run home run, giving Bethany a 3-0 lead.
After pitcher Kelsey Bish (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield) worked a perfect fourth inning to keep the Yellow Jackets off the scoreboard, the Bison put together a little déjà vu. Brill once again led off the inning with a hit, roping a double to center field to get herself into scoring position. Kusnierz then moved Brill to third with a single before Kelly brought her home with a RBI base hit.
After Kusnierz was picked off on a double steal, Mihalco once again came to the plate with Kelly standing on second base. This time Mihalco worked the count full before taking Samantha Kotomski's 3-2 pitch over the left field fence for her second two-run shot of the game, giving the Bison a 6-0 advantage.
The six-run lead would be more than enough for Bish, who allowed just one earned run over the final three innings to give Bethany the 6-1 victory in game one. The senior pitcher performed well under pressure during the contest. Despite giving up nine hits in the game, Bish still earned the complete-game victory, allowing just one run while striking out two and stranding seven Waynesburg baserunners.
Offensively, four different Bison totaled two hits each, led by Mihalco and Kelly. Mihalco completed the game two-for-three at the plate with a pair of home runs, four RBI, two runs scored and a walk. Kelly also finished the contest with two hits, driving in a pair with a single, a double and two runs scored.
Brill posted her third multi-hit game of the season, going two-for-three at the dish with a pair of runs scored. Marissa Bosley (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) also tallied two hits, finishing the contest with a pair of singles.
In the second contest, the Bison had a hard time getting anything going against Waynesburg pitcher Lyndi Gareis, as the Green & White managed just four hits (all singles) in a 3-0 defeat in game two.
The Yellow Jackets posted all three of their runs in the fifth inning off of pitcher Cassie Weiss (Washington, Pa./McGuffey). The first run came on a RBI ground out by Haley Payne. The other two runs came on a home run by Mackenzie Smith, giving Waynesburg a 3-0 lead, which they would not relinquish.
Offensively in the second contest, Kelly led the way once again, finishing the game two-for-three at the plate with a pair of singles. Mihalco also added a single in the loss, as did Brill.
In both of the contests combined, the trio of juniors proved to be tough outs, as the three hitters combined to go 10-of-17 at the plate, while accounting for all six RBI and all six runs scored.
The Bison will be back in action on Tuesday, April 7, when they host Franciscan University in a non-conference doubleheader. The action is slated for a 3:30 p.m. start.
