NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Westminster baseball team spilt their Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) doubleheader against Bethany at home Saturday afternoon. The Titans lost game one 3-2 and won game two 8-4.
 
"We needed to clean some things up and we responded well," said head coach Pat Riley. "For us, we need to find some consistency. We did some good things late, got some quality pitching, and played some nice defense behind them. Overall, I'm really proud with how they responded and we have to get the one tomorrow and win the series."
 
In game one, Bethany (13-10, 5-5 PAC) took a 2-0 lead with a run in each the second and third innings. Westminster (13-7, 8-3 PAC) cut the Bison's lead in half following a sacrifice fly by sophomore Logan Murgenovich (Aliquippa, PA / Central Valley) in the bottom of the third. The Bison added another run in the fifth, which proved to be the difference in the game. Titan senior Austin Webb (Wadsworth, OH / Wadsworth) connected on an RBI-single in the fifth and Bethany hung on for a 3-2 win. The Titans had bases loaded with two outs in their last at-bat, however, was unable to tie the game. Junior Frankie Manios (Warren, OH / Howland) (2-1) got his first of the season, after pitching four innings and giving up three runs on three hits.
 
In game two, the Titans were able to capitalize off the miscues from the Bison as they took a 5-2 lead into the sixth inning after Murgenovich and senior Seth Schrader (Fredonia, NY / Fredonia) crossed home plate. Westminster kept the lead the remainder of the game. Sophomore Logan Exler (Verona, PA / Serra Catholic) earned the win with a pair of strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Sophhomore Kolton Banfi (Harrisville, PA / Franklin Area) collected the save.
 
Webb led Westminster as he went a combined 4-for-8 with three runs-batted-in on the day.
 
Westminster will close out the series with Bethany tomorrow on the road with a nine-inning game. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. Read Full Article