MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — In a road makeup game Wednesday night, the Bethel Pilots (9-39, 4-30) were kept to six hits by the Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars (25-16, 18-14) by way of a 16-4 loss in the first game that ended in a mercy-rule in the fifth, and a 10-2 loss in the fifth for the nightcap.
GAME 1
The Cougars put up two runs in the bottom of the first from a sacrifice fly by Dakota Staffan and an RBI single to left by Avery Miller for a 2-0 start to the game. Jordan Markley answered in the top of the second from a double steal with Shelby White, but Markley scored from an obstruction call for the Pilots’ first run and made it 2-1.
MVNU answered big with a four spot in the bottom of the second, with a two-RBI double by Miller and a two-RBI single from Sydney Hoover to pull away 6-1. The Cougars put up 10 runs in the following third and fourth innings to take a 16-1, advantage then Bethel plated three in the top of the fifth with their final outs and the game on the line. Alyssa Forys, who holds the lone hit of the game, doubled to left field to plate Natalee McNeil and Hannah Goldsborough before Morgan Blubaum ground out to second to bring home Forys.
The Pilots fell in game one 16-4, and Haylee Allen (2-4) suffered the loss after 1.2 innings pitched and allowed eight hits, six runs (five earned), and walked one batter.
GAME 2
The nightcap started with a big seven-run inning for Mount Vernon Nazarene, putting the Pilots behind early. The inning included four doubles to center and a single to left. Staffan added to the Cougar run count in the bottom of the third from a sacrifice fly to right to bring home Zhari Hill. Then Miller scored Skylar Zimmerman from a single to center for the ninth run of the game and made it 9-0 MVNU.
Haylee Allen singled to right for the Pilots and scored White to erase the shutout in the top of the fourth, then Jordan Markley singled to left in the top of the fifth and brought home Forys to make it 9-2. MVNU scored one last insurance run in the bottom of the fifth from Jesenia Montalvo’s single to right and triggered the mercy rule to win 10-2.
Natalee McNeil (2-13) started the game and threw 0.2 innings allowed seven hits, seven runs, and walked one.
The Pilots play the Grace Lancers for the final doubleheader of the season at Gardner Field at 1 p.m. doubleheader.