WASHINGTON, Pa. - The fourth-seeded Bethany College baseball team fell to fifth-seeded Grove City (Pa.) College in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament by a final score of 8-7 at Ross Memorial Park.
Bethany's historic season comes to a close in the PAC Tournament but not before the Bison stormed back from six runs down with the go-ahead run in scoring position. The Bison scored five in the last five frames while shutting out Grove City in that span. The Green and White had the bases loaded in the top of the ninth but were down to their final out as the Wolverines successfully escaped the jam. Bethany ends the third-best season in program history with 26 wins: just one shy of tying the 2000 and 2019 teams. The 2026 campaign included three win streaks of five games or more as the Bison finish the year with a record of 26-17 and a 14-8 record in the PAC. Grove City advances to the semifinal game where they will play the loser of sixth-seeded Chatham and second-seeded W&J.
Scoring Plays
- Top 1st - Senior All-PAC second baseman Jaden Nestor-Fox (Vermilion, Ohio) sparked the Bison offense with an RBI single
- Top 1st - Junior Academic All-PAC third baseman Gian DeGenova (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park) grounded out but was able to score Nestor-Fox
- Top 5th - Sophomore designated hitter Marco Gonzalez (Oviedo, Fla.) hit a sac fly to start the Green and White comeback
- Top 5th - Nestor-Fox came around to score on a Wolverine wild pitch
- Top 6th - Junior shortstop Evan Hegarty (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) scored on an infield single by Gonzalez
- Top 8th - Gonzalez brought the Bison within two thanks to another RBI single
- Top 9th - Sophomore center fielder Niko Heidt (San Diego, Calif./Monte Vista) cut the lead to one with an RBI base hit and moved the tying run to just 90 feet away
At the Plate
- Gonzalez stayed hot at the dish by going 3-for-4 with three RBI to lead the Bethany offense
- Heidt scored twice and recorded two hits with a double, an RBI, and a stolen base
- Hegarty also had two hits and scored one run
- Nestor-Fox walked four times and notched a hit and an RBI
- DeGenova concluded his tournament with a double and one run driven in
- Senior All-PAC right fielder Sonny Peluchette (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Central Catholic) also collected a hit in his last game as a Bison
On the Mound
- Freshman left-hander Noah Stonerock (Circleville, Ohio/Westfall) held Grove City to four earned runs on eight hits but struck out six across seven innings
- Freshman right-hander Dominic Fry (Caldwell, Ohio) only allowed one walk in the eighth and finished the inning with no damage
