WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team split a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader versus Bethany on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Ross Memorial Park.

W&J sits at 11-1 in PAC play and 18-9 overall. Bethany moves to 2-12 in conference play and 9-22 overall.

Game One – W&J 13, Bethany 6
Dante DiMatteo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) put together a strong effort on the mound in game one. The junior right hander struck out 11 and walked just one over six innings to move to 3-0 on the season.

After two scoreless frames, W&J scored four times in the third inning. The Presidents got a two-run single by Zac Stern (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) to open the scoring. Nolan Lutz (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) and Scout Zaas (Powell, Ohio / Wellington School) singled home Lutz to make it 4-0.

Bethany got a run back in the bottom half of the inning as Grant Schaffner doubled in a run to make it 4-1. Ben Schuler (McDonald, Pa./South Fayette) singled home Andrew Miko (Portage, Pa./Portage) in the top of the fourth to extend the lead back to four runs at 5-1.

Brody Bartenstein (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post) drove in a pair in the fifth. His two-run single up the middle made it 7-1.

W&J tacked on an unearned run in the sixth inning. Zaas then smacked his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot, which made it 9-1 after seven innings of play.

Bethany scored twice in the eighth to trim its deficit to 9-3.

W&J pushed across four runs in the top of the ninth. Kyle Jones (Donegal, Pa./Mount Pleasant) smacked a two-run double to center and Knox Meier (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) followed with a double of his own to plate Jones.

The Bison scored three times in the bottom of the ninth to conclude the scoring.

W&J totaled 13 runs on 15 hits including six doubles in the opener. Zaas finished with three hits, two runs and two RBI. Miko logged the other multi-hit game for the Presidents with a pair of doubles.

Ethan Marszalek (Katy, Texas./Seven Lakes) tossed the final three innings to record his second save of the season.

Game Two – Bethany 11, W&J 6
The Bison used a pair of big innings to secure the split. Bethany scored four runs in the third and five runs in the eighth to take the second game.

W&J plated a pair in the first inning. Stern led off with a single and stole second. Walks to Drew Garth (Glenshaw, Pa./North Hills) and Lutz loaded the bases. A fielder's choice produced a RBI for Zaas. LaDuca followed with a single to left to make it 2-0. A double play helped clean up the inning for Bethany.

The Bison got one back in the bottom half of the frame and scored four times in the third to take a 5-2 lead. A three-run home run by Payton Zupko gave the Bison the lead for good.

W&J scored single tallies in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. John Klein (Vienna, Va./Madison) produced an RBI single in the fourth. LaDuca did the same in the fifth when he singled home Lutz. Eli Owens (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac) tacked on a RBI single in the sixth to close the gap to 6-5.

However, Bethany scored five times in the eighth to seal the victory.

Jacob LaDuca (Clarence, N.Y./Canisius) produced three hits and two RBI in game two. Jake Stiehl (Reston, Va./South Lakes) also logged another multi-hit effort.

Justin Giarrusso (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) was saddled with the loss. He worked three innings and gave up five runs (four earned). Giarrusso struck out four and walked one.

Nate Nolan (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) and Julian Elizondo (Manassas, Va./Osbourn) proved to be W&J's most effective pitchers in game two. Nolan worked two scoreless frames while Elizondo retired the side in order in the seventh.

On Deck: W&J steps out of conference to face Marietta College on Sunday, April 21 at Ross Memorial Park.