Beaver falls to Bethany College in doubleheader

By: Matylda Zamudio

BETHANY, W.Va. – In the first matchup of the season, the Penn State Beaver men's baseball lost both games in a doubleheader at Bethany College's field on Thursday afternoon.

In game 1, in the top of the first, Justyn Francona (New Brighton) reached first on an error by Bethany College's third baseman, allowing Christian James (Mechanicsburg/Cumberland Valley) to score Beaver's first run. Then, Kyle Redding (Gettysburg) singled in Francona for a second run, who had advanced to second. But Bethany College cut down Beaver's lead by scoring a run of its own in the bottom of the first. 

Scott Hughes (Aliquippa/Central Valley), who pitched in the first four innings, only allowed one run on three hits and left the game with the lead. 

Despite an early lead 2-1, the tides turned for Beaver in the bottom of the sixth when Bethany College batted in 4 more runs to make the score 5-2.  The Lions were unable to score any runs in the seventh and lost 5-2.

In game 2, Beaver managed to keep the score close in the first four innings, only trailing 1-0, until Bethany College knocked in 4 runs in both the fifth and sixth inning to hand Beaver a 9-0 loss. 

After today's doubleheader against Bethany College, Beaver starts the season with a 0-2 record.

Beaver will travel to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for the Ripken Experience spring training event, where the team will face-off against conference rivals Penn State Wilkes-Barre on Monday, Mar. 4. Game time is at 10 a.m.