Kight Invitational,

hosted by Whitman College

Friday, March 23

Bethany 9, Whitman 7

Vince Genna Stadium, Bend, Ore.

Failing to hold early leads of 4-2 and 6-4, the Whitman men's baseball team dropped a 9-7 decision to Bethany University Friday afternoon on day two of the Kight Invitational at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend, Ore.

Whitman, the tournament host, plays its final game at 10 a.m. Saturday against Simpson University. Bethany and Simpson then play the tourney finale on Saturday afternoon.

The Missionaries grabbed the early lead Friday with a run in the second inning. Freshman Austin Shackelford singled, stole second base, took third on a passed ball and scored when junior Luke Marshall singled up the middle. In the third, sophomore John Nelson walked and junior Adam Knappe singled to set the stage for a three-run inning. Shackelford's infield single scored Nelson from third base, and Marshall followed with a two-run double.

Bethany, an NAIA school in Santa Cruz, Calif., cut its deficit in half in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs on three hits. After the Bruins knotted the score at 4-4 in the fourth inning, the Missionaries moved back in front with two runs in the top of the fifth. Freshman Micah Babbitt was hit by a pitch, Knappe reached on an error and Shackelford knocked a run-scoring single through the right side of the infield. Sophomore Matt Morris-Rosenfeld made it 6-4 Whitman with a run-scoring infield single later in the inning.

Bethany turned the tables in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five times to lead 9-6. With one out in the eighth frame, Whitman loaded the bases when freshman Jason Sease singled in advance of walks to sophomore Dan White and Babbitt. Knappe grounded into a force out at second base as pinch-runner Brian Kitamura scored from third base to make it 9-7. The Bruins got out of the inning on another groundball out.

The Missionaries put the tying runs on base in the ninth but failed to score. Marshall led off with a double and advanced to third base on a ground out. With two outs, sophomore Derek Clovis walked to put runners on the corner. But Bethany's Steven Martinez, who tossed the last four innings to get the win, recorded the game's final out on a pop fly to the shortstop.