By Jim Steele steele@mckenziebanner.com

For the first time in school history, Bethel College has a shot at winning the regular-season Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference baseball title.

Such a lofty plateau hinges on what the Wildcats can get done at Spalding University in Louisville, Ky. this weekend. The 'Cats, 23-18 overall, 11-1 in the conference, face a salty and tradition-laden team when they visit the Pelicans (42-14 overall, 9-1 in the KIAC).

Bethel, which had been on a tear until Lambuth toppled it 15-6 on April 19, had won 12 of its previous 14 games, including eight in a row. Spalding swept Berea this past weekend, 10-0 last Friday, 5-2 and 10-0 on Saturday.

Excitement reigns at Bethel College.

"It is exciting," says BC baseball coach Glenn Hayes. "It's exciting to be coming down to one weekend like this."

If the Wildcats win two of the three at Spalding, they secure the pennant. And there are some interesting scenarios and circumstances. For starters, Bethel will play a rare tripleheader at Spalding, since there are no rooms to be had. It's Kentucky Derby weekend in Louisville.

Second, if the series is rained out, Bethel will be awarded the league crown.

"But we'd rather settle it on the field," Hayes said. "Unless a miracle happens, we'll play three on Saturday."

The Wildcats had this past weekend off to prepare for final examinations, but the team will practice this week before embarking early Saturday morning.

It has been an interesting season for the Wildcats, who loaded up their schedule with D-1 NAIA schools and nationally-ranked teams. BC got off to a slow start at North Georgia College. The 'Cats were 4-63 at the plate and off to an 0-5 start. That start turned into a 2-11-2 mire before they got some respite against Viterbo. But a twin setback at Campbellsville may have turned the tide for the Wildcats.

Hayes, coaches, pitchers and catchers had a team meeting in one of the classrooms at the Roy N. Baker Fieldhouse on March 16. It wasn't one of those butt-chewing sessions, rather it was a forum to air ideas and build accountability.

"To a man, it was positive and everybody accepted some responsibility," said Hayes. "Everybody said they were going to step up. It wasn't negative at all and it may have been a spark for us."

Obviously.

After the meeting, BC swept Rust College in a twinbill and went on the road to knock off Lambuth 10-6, just a day after the Eagles had shut out Division 1 NCAA Tennessee-Martin. That meeting sparked a run where the Wildcats won 16 of their next 20 games.

"This team doesn't point fingers and everybody pulls for everybody," said Hayes. "We find a way to correct mistakes and these kids are very good about accepting responsibility."

Hayes says this team may not be the most talented collection of baseball players, but when they play up to their capability, they usually are on the winning end. And because of that, they've been able to play through adversity and defeat some quality teams.

But winning at Spalding won't be easy. The Pelicans can hit the baseball. They've scored 10 or more runs in a game 21 times and 15 or more three times.

"We have to get strong starting pitching and they have to get us through the fifth and sixth innings of those games," Hayes said. "But as you can see by the scores, Spalding is a strong hitting team and we'll have to put some runs up."

Getting the ball in the three-game set will be Josh Langley (7-4, 6.16 ERA and 34 strikeouts), Aaron Johnson (4-1, 6.16 ERA and 16 strikeouts) and Hunter Pingston (5-0, 4.53 ERA and 30 strikeouts). Chris Wall, Kyle Rogers and Chris Blackwood have done exceptional jobs coming out of the bullpen, says Hayes.

The Wildcats are hitting .304 as a team. Jamie Burgess is batting .359 while Wade Maddox is at .339. Seniors Jamie Cregar and Oakey Gaskill are batting .326 and .321 respectively. Shaine Thurman has four homers and 34 RBI to lead the Wildcats in those categories.

"We've have come a long way this season and it's exciting to be at this point," said Hayes. "This is what baseball is all about."

By Pat Cole pcole@mckenziebanner.com

The Mustangs have been on a winning spree the past two weeks, recording eight wins to only two losses. They began their winning ways at the 96.5 Classic with a 4-2 win over the Lexington Tigers on April 14. After taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a walk, a stolen base and a single by Terrance Bell, they improved the margin to3-0 in the third inning on an error and a double by Will White and a single by Brian Nellett. The Tigers managed to narrow the margin to 3-2 in the fourth and fifth innings with single runs. In the sixth inning Scott Hampton got a hit and after a walk, the Stangs had another run and won the contest 4-2. Matt Spellings was the winning pitcher.

After the victory over the Tigers, the Stangs faced the USJ Bruins and fell behind early. USJ took a 9-0 lead in the first four innings. Although the Stangs attempted to come from behind and scored two runs in the fifth, they were unable to score again. The runs came on a hit by White, a walk and three USJ errors. USJ won the game 9-2.

On April 15, the Stangs met Portland in a very exciting game. They took the early lead, scoring five runs in the first inning on hits by White, Nellett, and Hampton. Nellett hit for a homerun. The Stangs scored another run in the second inning on a walk, a stolen base and an error, leading 6-0 after two innings. Portland came back to score three runs in the third inning, one in the fourth and three more in the sixth to take a 7-6 lead. The Stangs had runners on first and second in the seventh inning with only one out, but a hard line drive was caught and Portland had a double play to end the game. White took the loss and led the hitting efforts with two hits for the day.

April 16, the Stangs traveled to Parsons to take on the Panthers in a non-district contest and it was also an exciting one for fans of both teams. The Stangs scored a run in the first inning on two walks and an error as the Panthers countered with a run of their own. The second inning, Riverside scored twice, but Huntingdon countered with one on hits by Bell and Cody Crocker, with the scored 3-2 Riverside after two. The Panthers added three more runs in the third inning and Huntingdon one on an error, a hit batter and a single by M. Spellings to narrow the lead to 6-3. The fourth inning, Huntingdon added four runs and took a 7-6 lead on hits by Adam Parish, White, Nellett and Hampton. The Stangs added two more runs in the fifth and led 9-7 after Crocker, Paris and Nellett each got hits. The sixth inning Riverside scored five runs to lead 11-9. With an inning left to play, the Stangs were far from through. Bell and Paris each got hits and with a walk and three errors from Riverside, the Stangs scored three runs and took a 12-11 lead to win. Hampton took the victory on the mound while Parish had three hits and Nellett, Bell and Crocker each got two hits.

On April 17, Huntingdon hosted both Adamsville and Trenton. In the game against Adamsville, the Stangs picked up six runs in the bottom of the first inning as White, Adam Carter, and Bell got hits and two walks and an error assisted their efforts. The second inning four more runs came across the plate on a pair of two run homeruns by Hampton and M. Spellings. Nellett and Bell also hit the ball in the inning. The third inning, five more runs crossed the plate with Steven McClure, Thomas Butler, and Crocker getting hits. The final score was 15-4 with Spencer Clifft getting the win on the plate and Bell and Crocker both getting a pair of hits each.

The second game against the Golden Tide was much closer. Trenton took a 3-0 lead, but in the fourth inning, a hit by Nellett and a homerun by Hampton (second for the day) gave Huntingdon a pair of runs and they had narrowed the margin to 3-2. The Stangs tied the game in the sixth on hits by Nellett and Hampton and a fielder’s choice allowed the run to score. The bottom of the seventh, Butler walked and a throwing error by the Trenton pitcher put Butler on third base. Crocker singled to drive in Butler and give Huntingdon a 4-3 victory. Spellings picked up the win while Nellett had two hits for the day and Hampton had three.

On April 19, Huntingdon had a doubleheader at Clarksburg in district action. Four runs crossed the plate in the first inning as Crocker and Hampton got hits and M. Spellings had a homerun. The Rockets tied the game in the bottom of the first on two walks and hits by Bolen, Foster and Biggart. Huntingdon scored three runs in the second, eight in the third and one in the fourth to win the opening game 16-4 after four. Hampton picked up the victory while Crocker had two hits and Hampton and M. Spellings had three hits each. Spellings had two homeruns.

In the second game, the seniors returned to Huntingdon for play practice. Clarksburg took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but the Stangs came back in the second to score five runs on six walks and a hit by McClure to win the game 5-3. Crocker took the victory in game two.

April 20 rounded out the games last week with the remainder rained out. Big Sandy traveled to Huntingdon for a pair of district contests and immediately had to forfeit the first due to being 30 minutes late. In the game that was played however, the Stangs hit the ball well with White, Nellett and M. Spellings each getting a pair of hits and Bell, Butler and Parish getting one hit each. Bell and Nellett each hit a homerun. The Stangs had 11 runs in the first inning and four more in the second. The game concluded on the 15-run rule after three with White picking up the victory.

The Stangs improve to 15-7 overall and are scheduled to play throughout this week. They were to play at West Carroll on Monday, host the Hollow Rock-Bruceton Tigers on Tuesday, travel to Jackson and play USJ at Pringles Park on Wednesday and then return home on Thursday for a game against Jackson Southside. Friday they will again travel to Jackson for a game with Liberty. Saturday, they will host a game with Lexington.

By Jim Steele steele@mckenziebanner.com

2004 Sports Archives:

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