By: Zach Pressnell 

 

The Bethany College baseball team traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to take part in the Ripken Experience from March 6th to March 10th. The Bison caught fire during this week and were able to put up an incredible 5-0 record on the week, pushing their season record to 9-2. Each game they played had a unique storyline. Each game featured different players that shined for the Bison. Let’s take a deeper dive into this past week of Bethany Baseball.

 

Monday, March 6th 

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Story of the Game: Taking care of business 

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Final Score: Bethany 11, Clarks Summit 2 

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Players of the Game 

Kyle D’Angela: 5 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 9 K 

Colton Stoneman: 2/4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 3B 

Nick Roell: 2/4, 3 R, 1 RBI 

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The Bison began their Myrtle Beach trip a bit groggy. It took them until the 3rd inning to take the lead, before completely taking control of the game with a 6-run 4th inning which featured hits from 7 different Bison. Senior pitcher Kyle D’Angela was too much for Clarks Summit to handle, as he struck out 9 batters and looked utterly dominant for a majority of the contest. Bethany would go on to keep control of this game, tacking on 4 runs in the last two innings to win the game 11-2. 

Bethany was the better team in this matchup, and they proved it throughout the game. They trailed for only half of an inning. This was a matchup that the Bison knew they should win and they spent 9 innings proving this confidence correct. 

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Tuesday, March 7th 

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Story of the Game: Resilience 

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Final Score: Bethany 7, Delaware Valley 6 

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Players of the Game 

Colton Stoneman: 3/4, 1 R, 1 BB 

JT Hubert: 1/4, 3 IP, 1 R, 5 K 

Devin Toothman: 1/2, 1 R 

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Last season, Bethany matched up with Delaware Valley in Myrtle Beach for a double header, where they split the games 1 win a piece. This season, a single 9 inning game would help to settle the split from last season.  

Bethany has made a name for themselves with their high energy dugout, coining the phrase “it takes all 40 of us” to win a game. This starts with the energy in the dugout. But, on Tuesday night, Delaware Valley erupted with energy, taking control of the game from the very beginning. The Bison used 2 3-run innings in the 5th and 6th inning to take the lead 6-5. After the 6th inning, Coach Justin Thomas turned to flamethrower JT Hubert to throw the last 3 innings. Hubert was electric out of the bullpen and freshman Devin Toothman scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 9th inning. 

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Wednesday, March 8th 

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Story of the Game: Trey Mantle. 

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Final Score: Bethany 10, Penn State Berks 0 

 

Players of the Game 

Trey Mantle: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 7 K 

Nick Roell: 3/6, 2 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI 

Devin Toothman: 3/3, 2 BB, 3 R, 2 SB 

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Trey Mantle twirled his best game of his collegiate career, with a dominant 9 inning shutout. Mantle had control of the Nittany Lions from pitch number 1, all the way through pitch number 115. He was able to stifle Penn State Berks with his devastating cutter and curveball combination. He pairs that with tremendous confidence and an aggressive mentality, making him one of the most dangerous pitchers in the PAC at the moment. 

Somehow, Bethany’s offensive explosion wasn’t the story of the game, because of Mantle’s performance. Either way, Bethany had three players with at least 3 hits, to add to their 17 total hits for the game. Devin Toothman was incredible in his second career start, reaching base all five times he came to the plate. 

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Thursday, March 9th 

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Story of the Game: Unlikely heroes 

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Final Score: Bethany 8, Penn College 3 

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Players of the Game 

Riley Brendel: 1/4, 1 HR, 3 RBI 

Josh Speaker: 3/5, 2 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI 

CJ Owens: 2/5, 3 RBI 

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Bethany rested a few everyday starters for this game (Luke Beatty, Nick Roell, Colton Stoneman) which meant a few different guys would need to step up to pick up the offensive production. Nobody took this opportunity more head on than sophomore Riley Brendel. Brendel was seeing his first career start in LF. Trailing by a score of 2-1, Brendel hit a fastball over the left field fence for his first career home run and his first career hit, to give the Bison a 4-2 lead.  

And 4 runs would be enough to win, behind the Senior duo of Mark Lavezza and Zach Nolf who allowed just 3 runs, while striking out 10 batters. Two other newer faces, sophomores Mike Hines and Tyler McKee also had standout games. Mike Hines played tremendous defense, while McKee added 2 hits as well as a shutdown glove at shortstop. The Bison head to 4-0 on the week. 

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Friday, March 10th 

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Story of the Game: Overcoming adversity 

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Final Score: Bethany 8, La Roche 7 

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Players of the Game 

Nick Roell: 3/5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SB 

Grant Schaffner: 2/2, 1 2B, 1 R 

Colton Stoneman: 3/4, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 SB 

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Adversity was the name of the game on the final day of the Myrtle Beach trip. The first bout of adversity came before 6 AM, when the Bison alarm clocks went off to alert them for their 9 AM game. Just after 5:30, the Bison got word that this game was canceled, and they would play a single 9 inning game against La Roche at 2 PM. After the game began, it didn’t take too long for Bethany to see more adversity. 

By the time the 4th inning was over, Bethany had faced an ejection to one of their better players, as well as significant injuries to their starting pitcher, JT Hubert, and their starting 3rd baseman, Grant Schaffner. On the verge of a 5-0 week, Bethany used the offensive production from the top of their lineup to propel them to 8 runs. Coach Justin Thomas went to senior relief pitcher Zach Nolf for the last 1.2 innings, where he was able to slam the door shut for his 3rd save of the year.  

The Bison went into Myrtle Beach and didn’t just take part in the Ripken Experience. They took over.