Wildcats’ take two of three in Conference opening series
‘Cats score 57 runs in three game set including 12 homers
Matt Swinea, Sports Information Director
McKenzie, Tenn. – The Bethel Wildcat baseball team took two of three in their TranSouth Conference season opening series with Martin Methodist College. Bethel exploded for 57 runs in the three game series and hit 12 homers. The Wildcats hit 18 homers during the week. They hit a total of 16 as a team all of last season.
Game one ended up being in the words of Bethel College head coach Glenn Hayes, “One of the strangest games I have ever seen.” The Wildcats gave up 11 runs in the top of the second inning which chased starter Drew Hayes (Fr./McKenzie, Tenn.) after he gave up five. Relief pitcher Hunter Pingston (Sr./Rockledge, Fla.) didn’t fair much better giving up six more in the second and five more in the third. After the third inning the ‘Cats were trailing 16-2. Then the offense woke up. Bethel scored six runs in both the fourth and the sixth to cut the lead to 18-14. Martin led 23-18 going into the ninth, but the Wildcats posted a run and had the bases loaded before the RedHawks recorded the final out for a 23-19 win. Jonathon Keck (Fr./Lexington, Tenn.) led the Wildcats going 2 for 5 with three runs scored, 5 RBI, including a mammoth grand slam shot. Tyler Newman (Jr./Henderson, Tenn.) went 4 for 4 with 4 RBI and a homer. Jim Evans (Fr./Jackson, Tenn.) went 4 for 6 with 3 RBI and a homer. Alex Whitmore (Sr./Nashville, Tenn.) was 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and a homer. Hayes took the loss.
Bethel’s offensive eruption didn’t stop on Saturday. In the first game of the double header, the Wildcats jumped on the RedHawks scoring 10 runs in the first inning and never looked back. Hayes hit two homers in the first inning, a two-run shot and then a three run dinger accounting for five runs. Bethel scored two more in the second to take a 12-1 lead. In the third, Whitmore hit a two-run shot to increase the lead 14-1. Newman followed with a shot over the right field fence and after Heath Sharp (So./Fayetteville, Tenn.) reached on a walk, Keck hit a towering shot over the purple wall in right for a two run homer. After scoring seven in the third, the Wildcats were comfortably ahead 19-2. Bethel cruised through the fifth when the game was run-rule called. Newman recorded the win, pitching five innings giving up two earned runs, nine hits, while striking out seven. Hayes was 2 for 3 with three runs scored, six RBI and two homers. Keck was 2 for 3 with 3 RBI and a homer. Whitmore was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and a homer. Newman went 1 for 2 with 2 walks, 2 RBI and a homer. Seth Stanfill (Jr./Lexington, Tenn.) was 1 for 3 with 4 RBI. In the second game, the Bethel bats continued to pound RedHawk pitching. After trailing 4-2, the Wildcats plated 14 runs in the bottom of the third. After singles by Scott Dean (Fr./Jackson, Tenn.) and Hayes, Whitmore went deep to right center for a three-run shot. The ‘Cats got 9 more hits and took advantage of three RedHawk errors as they took a commanding 16-4 lead. But, the ‘Cats weren’t finished. In the bottom of the fourth, Dean walked and Hayes singled and Whitmore hit the first pitch he saw for his second three-run shot of the day. Leading 19-6 the game was run-ruled in the fifth. Jon Patterson (Fr./Lexington, Tenn.) pitched five innings giving up five earned runs on seven hits. He struck out five in posting the win. Whitmore was 3 for 4 with six RBI and two homers. Sharp was 2 for 4 with 3 RBI. Tanner Hall (Jr./Wingo, Ky.) was 1 for 2 with a walk and 3 RBI. Stanfill was 1 for 3 with 2 RBI. Dean went 2 for 2 with a walk, an RBI and four runs scored. Hayes was 3 for 4 with three runs scored.
The Wildcats are now 8-3-1 on the season. They will be in Sanford, Florida March 5 – 7th. On Monday, the fifth, they play a double header against Marian. On Tuesday, the sixth, they play two against Jamestown. On Wednesday, the seventh, they play one against St. Francis (Ill.) and the one against West Virginia Tech. On the return trip they stop over in Lebanon, Tenn. to resume conference play in a three-game series against Cumberland University starting on Friday, March 9 at 2:00pm and then a double header on Saturday, March 10 beginning at 12:00pm.