Bethel College Wildcats’ season ends at TranSouth Conference Tournament;
Season sees several bright spots and broken records
Matt Swinea, Sports Information Director
JACKSON, Tenn. (Thursday, May 3, 2007) – The Bethel Wildcats season came to a close after their second loss in the TranSouth Conference Tournament. They opened the tournament with a strong win over the number three seeded Freed-Hardeman University and did it in dramatic fashion. They knew game two was going to be a challenge as they faced the number two seeded and number seventeen ranked Cumberland University Bulldogs. Bethel showed they could be serious contenders but lost 3-0. Then, came another tall order as they were paired with the number one seeded and seventh ranked Travecca Nazarene University Trojans. Bethel found themselves trailing early but surged and tried to make a come back before falling 12-6.
After taking two of three from Freed-Hardeman the preceding weekend, the Wildcats knew they were going to be facing a stiff challenge. Blake Willis (Jr./Newbern, Tenn.) took the hill and was effective. Willis has been hampered by some arm problems but was good for four innings of work and left with the game tied at two. Bethel then got what they needed from senior pitcher Hunter Pingston (Rockledge, Fla.). Pingston scattered five hits allowing one run in four innings. With the Lions leading 3-2 going into the ninth, Bethel brought in Jonathan Neely (Jr./Cullman, Ala.). Neely allowed one run as Freed took a 4-2 advantage. It looked as though the Lions had gotten an insurance run. But, Bethel came storming back in the bottom of the ninth. Johnathan Deberry (Fr./Lexington, Tenn.) led off the inning and was hit by a pitch. Matt Retherford (Sr./Collinwood, Tenn.) followed with a single moving Deberry to second. Josh Wharton (Fr./Herrin, Ill.) came in to pinch run for Retherford. Seth Stanfill (Jr./Lexington, Tenn.) laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt moving the runners to second and third. Scott Dean (Fr./Jackson, Tenn.) singled to center scoring Deberry to make the score 4-3 Freed. Jon Dyer (Fr./Dyer, Tenn.) came in to run for Dean at second. Drew Hayes (Fr./McKenzie, Tenn.) on a 1-1 count dropped a perfect bunt squeeze to score Wharton and tie the score at 4-4. Dyer was at second and Alex Whitmore (Sr./Nashville, Tenn.) singled to center driving in the winning run as the Wildcats took the game 5-4.
Game two had Drew Hayes on the mound to take on the defending conference champions, Cumberland University. Although Hayes would take the loss, he threw eight strong innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits and struck out eight. But Cumberland used three pitchers to hold the Wildcats to only three hits. The Bethel offense just could not get anything on track, striking out 15 times in the game before losing 3-0.
Game three pitted the Wildcats against Trevecca Nazarene University. Tyler Newman (Jr./Henderson, Tenn.) got the start and wasn’t able to get out of the third inning. In 2.2 innings of work, Newman gave up 8 runs, six earned on six hits. And Bethel was quickly down 8-0 after three. Pingston came in and gave the Wildcats another shot in the arm. He threw 4.1 innings allowing two runs on four hits. His highlight though may have been his only plate appearance in two years. Pingston blasted a homer on the first pitch in the top of the seventh over the left field fence. Bethel would score two more in the seventh to make it an 8-4 game. But Bethel was unable to hold on giving up a two runs in the bottom of the seventh and two more in the eighth as the Trojans took the game 12-6.
While Bethel’s season came to an end, there was much to be positive about. After all, of the Wildcats eight position players, four were freshmen. Add in a sophomore and a junior and six of the eight position players are back for next season. The entire starting pitching staff returns along with several relief pitchers. Basically, this was a young team that accomplished a great deal in arguably the toughest baseball conference in the NAIA. As a team, the Wildcats set a record for wins in a season with 33. They ranked number 12 in home runs per Game (1.096); number 23 in RBI per Game (6.808); number 31 in runs scored per Game (7.269) and number 43 in slugging pct (0.467). They also had an individual record set as Jonathon Keck (Fr./Lexington, Tenn.) tied the career homer mark in his freshman season with 17. There were also individuals that ranked nationally: Keck number 12 in home runs per Game (0.327); Whitmore number 16 in home runs per Game (0.314); Whitmore number 19 in runs batted in per Game (1.216); Hayes number 21 in batters struck out per 9 (10.25); Keck number 33 in runs batted in per Game (1.154); Whitmore number 44 in total bases per Game (2.373); and Neely number 50 in Saves (4). The Wildcats end the season with a 33-19-1 record.