WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team (28-11, 17-5) closes out the regular season with a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader split against the Bethany Bison (25-15, 14-8). The Bison took game one 15-11, and W&J responded with an 11-1 victory in game two.
Game One - Bethany 15, W&J 11
Luke Alvarez (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) led the Presidents' offense in game one, setting the new single-season home run record. Alvarez went 2-for-6 from the plate, both hits being homers for a total of six RBIs.
Keegan Carr (Irwin, Pa./Norwin / Indiana University of Pennsylvania) also had three hits on the day with a double and two walks.
The Bison got on the board first, scoring three runs in the first inning. W&J tacked on with a sacrifice flyout off the bat of
Teddy Platt (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) to score their first run of the game in the top of the second, 3-1.
Bethany added eight more runs in the bottom of the third to enlarge a 11-1 lead. The Presidents showed signs of life in the top of the fourth, chipping away at the Bison's lead with a three-run inning.
Carl Wagner (Honey Brook, Pa./Westtown School) hit an RBI double that scored Carr. Alvarez, batting later, hit his first homer of the game to tie the single-season record, 11-4.
Entering the top of the sixth inning down 12-4, the Presidents loaded the bases with no outs. Alvarez mashed his second homer of the day to secure the single-season homer record at W&J. The grand slam from the W&J catcher sparked a six-run inning, 12-10.
Zac Stern (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) scored on a passed ball in the top of the eighth to bring the Bethany lead to within one, 12-11. The Bison responded in the bottom of the eighth inning with three runs to escape the W&J comeback in game one.
Game Two – W&J 11, Bethany 1
Junior
Andrew Miko (Portage, Pa./Portage) led the President offense in game two, batting 2-for-4, scoring a run, and drawing a walk. Stern also batted 1-for-2, drew a walk, and scored two runs for the Red & Black.
Plays on the basepath were the keys to extending the W&J lead in game two. The Presidents opened the contest with seven runs in the opening third of the contest. The first three of W&J's runs came from either a walk or a wild pitch. Singles from sophomore
Tommy Dietrich (Davidsonville, Md./DeMatha Catholic) and Carr brought two across the plate. One final run in the third inning came from a sacrifice fly by Platt.
An Alvarez home run over the fence in left center field extended the Presidents' lead, and a fielder's choice scored freshman
Seth Rosenfeld (Ellicott City, Md./Long Reach) to make it 9-1.
The two teams traded scoreless innings in the back half of the contest before W&J found the final two runs in the ninth inning to round out an 11-1 win to close out the regular season. A double from junior
Paddy Hernjak (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) set up a single from freshman
Alex Shank (McDonald, Pa./Canon-McMillan) to bring the tenth run around. Singles from freshmen
Anthony Smith (Allison Park, Pa./Deer Lakes) and
Tyler Maddix (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) brought home Shank to round out the scoring.
The W&J defense, led by junior
Brendan Cruz (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley), held the Bison offense to eight scoreless innings in game two. The pitching staff only allowed four hits in all nine innings played. Cruz recorded his ninth win of the season. The junior pitched four innings and recorded three strikeouts. Junior
Thomas McLaren (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) also recorded three strikeouts in two innings of work. Additionally, senior
Justin Giarrusso (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) and freshman
Brady Dojonovic (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) only needed one inning to put away three batters on strikes.
The President will begin postseason play in the Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament on Wednesday (May 6). All games will be played at Ross Memorial Park. Game times are still to be determined.
