CLERMONT – Seven innings wasn’t enough to decide an outcome, but the Bethany College softball team made sure all the extra work paid off, as the Bison pulled out a 10-9 victory in 11 innings over Transylvania (Ky.) University before knocking off #13 Cortland State (NY) 4-2 in eight innings Monday afternoon.
In the first game with Transy, BC fell behind 2-0 in the third, but tied the game with a pair in the bottom of that same frame on an RBI single from senior 3B Andrea Thomas (Toronto, Ohio) and a run-producing double by sophomore DP Liz Kletzli (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley). The Pioneers moved back in front with three in the fifth inning but the Bison got one back in the last of the fifth when a two-out error allowed sophomore RF Maria Vallone (Rochester, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) to come home.
Transy scored once in the sixth to extend their lead to 6-3 and force Bethany to post a big comeback in the late innings. A two-out single by Vallone scored a pair in the sixth to make it a 6-5 Pioneer advantage. Then in the bottom of the seventh, BC loaded the bases with no outs. Following a pop up, sophomore CF Alison Powell (Nashport, Ohio/Tri-Valley) lofted a sacrifice fly to center field for the tying run to force the game into extra innings.
With the international tiebreaker rule in effect, Transy scored once in the top of the eighth, ninth and 10th innings, putting the pressure on Bethany to score to keep the game going. Each time, BC rose to the challenge. In the eighth, it was Vallone with another two-out RBI single to tie the game. In the ninth, a wild pitch brought in the tying run and in the 10th, a Transy error, one of five Pioneer miscues in the game, drew Bethany even again at 9-9.
In the 11th, Bethany made a stand to hold the Pioneers scoreless, as sophomore pitcher Emily Jump (Milford, Del./Polytech) struck out the final batter to strand a runner at third. Then in the bottom of the 11th, following a sacrifice bunt, Jump singled to center field to score Thomas, who was placed at second at the beginning of the inning, to end the thriller and give Bethany the win.
The Bison banged out 15 hits in the win, led by Thomas, who was 4-for-5, and Vallone, who had three hits and three RBIs. In addition to the game-winning hit, Jump also went all the way in the circle. In her 11 innings, she allowed 15 hits and nine runs, but only three were earned, while striking out seven and walking three.
In the match-up with Cortland State, who was ranked 13th in this week’s NFCA Top 25 poll, the pitchers controlled the action until late. The Dragons led 1-0 until the sixth inning when Bethany scratched out a run to even the score and push the game into extra innings. This time, the Bison didn’t wait long to win, scoring three runs in the eighth compared to just one by Cortland and come away with the 4-2 victory.
Senior pitcher Cortney Newland (Carmichaels, Pa.) lifted BC to the win, as she threw all eight innings and limited Cortland, who scored 18 runs in a pair of wins Sunday, to only two runs.
After playing 19 innings of ball Monday, the Bison get a well deserved day off Tuesday. Bethany will be back on the diamond Wednesday with two more games against Wesleyan (Conn.) at 9:30 a.m. and Saint Joseph (Conn.) at 11:30 a.m.
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