Millington, Tenn. — The Bethel Men’s Baseball team (1-2) split the doubleheader with the Blue Mountain Christian Toppers with a 4-3 loss in game one and a win 4-3 at the USA Baseball Complex on Saturday.
GAME 1
The Toppers broke the silence in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI single to start ahead 1-0, but senior Cooper Tolson tied the game in the top of the fifth inning 1-1 with a sacrifice fly to center field to score junior Dominic Deisler. The Pilots were still pushing forward as junior Thomas Dolan hit an RBI single to score Seth Ambrose, to give the Pilots the lead 2-1.
Alex Stout slammed his first solo home run of the year in the top of the sixth to put the Pilots up 3-1, but a big seventh inning by the Toppers would give Blue Mountain Christian the win and the 2-0 series lead for the weekend.
Brad VanOverberghe was credited with the loss after going 5.1 innings pitched on six hits, one earned run, two walks, and struck out three batters.
GAME 2
The Pilots did not waste time with a sack fly to centerfield by Alex Stout to score Andrew Miranda in the top of the first inning to make it a 1-0 ballgame.
The Toppers answered with a 2-RBI double in the bottom of the third to pass the Pilots and take the lead 2-1. Bethel loaded the bases and took advantage of three walked-in runs in the top of the seventh to gain a 4-2 lead.
In the bottom of the frame, Blue Mountain Christian squeezed one more run through on an RBI single to make it a 4-3 game.
The Pilots would win game two 4-3, and Ty Mickiewicz earned his first win of the season on six innings pitched, three earned runs, and seven strikeouts.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Jeremy Wiersema went 3-for-4 in game two for his second multi-hit game and first three-hit game of the season.
- Ty Mickiewicz finished his outing with an impressive 64 pitches in six innings.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots continue their southern tour with a three-game series with Champion Christian (Ark.) on Feb. 10. First pitch of the Friday doubleheader is set for 1 p.m. in Hot Springs, Ark.