Fayette Caps Season with Comeback Win at Bethany College
April 24, 2012
BETHANY, WV - Penn State Fayette baseball rallied for five runs in the final three innings on Tuesday afternoon to erase a 4-0 deficit and claim a 5-4 win at Bethany College in a non-conference game. The win gives Fayette its first win against an NCAA Division III member this year, and is the first in three years for the Roaring Lions.
Fayette (13-19, 7-11 PSUAC) finishes 2012 on a three-game win streak, and is the second time they accomplished that streak this season. The other streak came April 7-11, when they swept Boyce CC before taking down Penn State Beaver in the opener of a conference doubleheader.
Bethany got on the board early against senior Sam Beucher (Connellsville, Pa.), as a lead-off single and sacrifice bunt were followed by a Fayette error to give Bethany a 1-0 lead.
Fayette had a baserunner in the first four innings, including bases loaded in the fourth, but were unable to push any runs across. Juniors Cody Ward (Connellsville, Pa.) and Nolan Zavora (Charleroi, Pa.) each cracked doubles early, but did not score.
Bethany added to their lead in the fourth, as a lead-off home run by Derek Miller gave the Bison a 2-0 advantage. Juls Leto added an RBI double and TJ Zarewicz hit a sacrifice fly to center for a 4-0 Bethany lead.
The Roaring Lions finally got going in the seventh, as sophomore Braden Royer (Greensburg, Pa.) was hit by a pitch to lead-off the inning. Zavora singled and sophomore Alex Fogle (Connellsville, Pa.) hit an RBI single to get Fayette on the board. Freshman Colvin Adey (Connellsville, Pa.) then smacked a two-out, two-run double to bring Fayette within one, 4-3.
Fayette benefitted from a pair of Bison errors in the ninth, as Fogle reached on an error and stole second to lead-off the inning. Beucher singled and Fogle eventually scored on an error to tie the score at 4-4. With nobody out and Beucher on third and Adey at first, senior Jonathan Eicher (Uniontown, Pa.) grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but Beucher scored to give Fayette their first lead of the game.
Bethany's top of the order was unable to mount a comeback, going down in order against senior Zach Durbin (Carmichaels, Pa.).