Huntington, Ind. --- The Bethel Pilots baseball team took the eighth seed in the Crossroads League tournament and will face the fifth-seeded Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars in a play-in game on Wednesday, May 3, with the first pitch slated for 3:30 p.m. at Forest Glen Park in Huntington, Ind.
BETHEL VERSUS MVNU
The Pilots ended the regular season with a record of 19-29 and 12-24 in Crossroads League play. At the start of the conference schedule, Bethel lost the series to Mount Vernon Nazarene 3-1 in Leesburg, Fl. The game two victory was won by a 9-2 with starting pitcher Brad VanOverberghe throwing 4.2 innings and allowing two runs on two hits.
Noah Borwege shut the door after 2.1 innings of work and only allowed one hit and one walk with two punchouts.
Andrew Miranda had a good day at the plate in the Pilot victory, going 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two hits, joining Jeremy Wiersema and Corbin Greenslade, who all had two-hit games.
Greenslade had a good series at the plate, going 7-for-14 (.500) with three RBIs; Miranda went 4-for-17 (.235), getting at least one hit in each game except for game four.
SCOUTING MOUNT VERNON NAZARENE
The Cougars, as a team, rank in the top 10 in multiple NAIA statistical categories, with batting average (9th) and runs (9th) being their shiniest categories.
The team's batting average is .269, with junior catcher Casey Kalman leading the offense, hitting at a .342 clip in 149 at-bats.
Freshman Rider Minnick and Joe Poremsky also hit above .300 with averages of .325 and .301, respectively.
Josh Petit has been the best on the pitching staff. In nine starts, the junior has a 4-4 record and a season ERA of 4.42 with a K/9 of 8.49.
Cruz McFadden is the top dog out of the bullpen for the Cougars and has seen the hill 16 times this season. He has recorded 10 saves in 24 innings of work and has the lowest ERA on the pitching staff with an even 3.00.
THE NEXT STEP
The matchup winner will face the second seed and host of the tournament Huntington University who won the series against Mount Vernon Nazarene and Bethel back-to-back in March. The game is slated for Thursday, Mar. 4, at 11:00 a.m.
For the latest information on each of Bethel University's 31 intercollegiate athletic teams, visit BUPilots.com or follow the Pilots on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @BUPilots or on YouTube at /BethelSportsNetwork.
