DAVENPORT, Fla. — The Bethel Pilots split the final games of the series with the Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars on Wednesday and walked away with the first Crossroads League win of the 2025 campaign.
GAME 3
Hudson Francis got the Pilots on the board after three silent innings with an RBI single to left that brought home Elijah Gaines from third and took the initial 1-0 lead.
Mount Vernon answered back in the bottom of the fifth with a double to left, then an RBI single to right-center to tie the game 1-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, MVNU took the lead from an RBI double to left, then an RBI triple to right-center to make it a 3-1 game.
Bethel came back in the top of the eighth with a double to left-center by Corbin Greenslade, with Gaines roping an RBI single to center and traded places with Greenslade, 3-2.
The Cougars scored an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth from an RBI single to left to eventually win 4-2 and secure the series win.
Andrew Gerber got the starting nod and pitched five innings, allowing five hits and one run, walking two and striking out two before Peter Wallsmith relieved Gerber in the sixth.
Wallsmith went for 2.1 innings and allowed five hits on three runs, and then Noah Lyons closed the door for two outs for a clean line.
GAME 4
The Cougars struck first in the bottom of the opening frame after a lead-off walk made it to third from a passed ball and an error by the right fielder before a sacrifice fly brought in the first run of the game, 1-0.
Adam Walters tied the game 1-1 in the top of the third with an RBI single to left, scoring Drew Deming after a lead-off single to right.
Elijah Gaines gave Bethel the lead in the top of the fourth from a sacrifice fly to right, bringing home Jesse Stout, 2-1.
The Pilots plated an insurance run in the top of the fifth, with Jordan Landkrohn’s RBI single to center, and rode the lead to a 3-1 victory to spoil the series sweep.
Bethel begins the RussMatt Invitational on Friday, Feb. 28, with a doubleheader with the Cornerstone Golden Eagles at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Northeast Regional Park in Davenport, Fla.