W&J’s stock rising with first-round tournament win
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington & Jefferson’s Ben Marsico delivers a pitch against Bethany during the PAC tournament Thursday at Ross Memorial Park in Washington.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington & Jefferson’s Mullen Socha had the big hit in an 8-3 win over Miseracordia Friday inn an NCAA Division III Super Regional game.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Washington & Jefferson’s Spencer Howell makes a play against Bethany College during the first round of the PAC tournament at Ross Memorial Park in Washington. W&J won, 12-0.
If you put much stock in historical trends, then you have to like the Washington & Jefferson College baseball team’s chances in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference tournament that began Thursday. Each of W&J’s last five tournament championships have come in odd-numbered years – 2017, 2015, 2013, 2009 and 2007.
If you prefer more-recent trends, then you still have to like W&J’s chances. The Presidents rolled through the PAC this year, winning 21 of 24 games and the regular-season title.
You also have to like W&J’s chances when its starting pitcher throws seven shutout innings and induces a bevy of groundball outs, and the Presidents’ cleanup hitter belts two home runs, like they did Thursday.
“That a winning formula,” W&J coach Jeff Mountain confirmed.
Ben Marsico improved his pitching record to 10-1 by throwing seven impressive innings, and left fielder Jim Artale belted two home runs, including a second-inning grand slam, as top-seeded W&J rolled to a 12-0 victory over fourth-seeded Bethany in the opening game of the PAC tournament at Ross Memorial Park.
W&J (30-11) moves into the winners’ bracket game of the double-elimination tournament today at noon against Grove City, a 15-11 comeback winner over Waynesburg. Bethany plays the Waynesburg in an elimination game at 3 p.m.
“We’ve been through just about everything in this tournament,” Mountain said of his past teams. “We’ve lost the first game, we’ve lost the second game, we’ve ripped right through the tournament. Anything can happen.”
That’s why W&J had Marsico on the mound. The righthander has been the Presidents’ most consistent pitcher. He doesn’t beat himself, as his eight walks in 69 2/3 innings this year proves. And he’s hard to hit, as everybody except Bethany’s Neil Woods discovered in the tournament opener.
Marsico scattered six hits, did not walk a batter and left after seven innings holding a 10-0 lead. Of the 21 outs Marsico recorded, three were strikeouts and 12 came off ground balls.
“He’s figured things out,” Mountain said of his junior pitcher out of North Allegheny High School. “He’s developed more movement on his pitches than he had the last two years. When he’s on, he’s getting ground balls.”
Artale, the Presidents’ left fielder, said that when Marsico is on the mound, there usually isn’t much action for the outfielders. That was the case against Bethany. The Bison were able to get a baserunner into scoring position in only two innings against Marsico. The only Bethany batter who had success was Woods, the second-leading hitter in the PAC. He went 3-for-4.
W&J scored the game’s initial run in the opening inning. Mullen Socha hit a one-out fly ball that Bethany center fielder Seth Gordon seemed to be camped under, but it got a boost from a strong wind and fell behind Gordon for a double. Socha scored on a single by Josh Cummer.
The Bison (25-15) were shaky defensively in the first few innings. In the second, W&J had Spencer Howell on second base when Justin Griffin hit a grounder to third baseman Tyler Frazee, who fielded the ball but made a move back to third base, thinking the Howell was trying to advance, which he wasn’t. Griffin beat out Frazee’s throw to first base and not getting an out on the play proved costly when Artale hit the first pitch of his at-bat for a two-out grand slam to left centerfield that made the score 6-0.
“I think our experience is an advantage,” Artale said. “Our senior class has been to four PAC tournaments, it’s has been to regionals, the (NCAA Division III) World Series. Our experience gives us the upper hand. We know what to do.”
Artale knew what to do with another fastball he saw in the eighth inning. He smacked it for a leadoff home run that made it 11-0.
It gave Artale his first two-homer game ever, even including the youth leagues.
“He tore his ACL last year, and it takes a while to come back from that kind of injury,” Mountain said. “The last two weeks he’s been hitting the ball better. He’s been hot.”
Howell, W&J’s strong-armed shortstop, had a good day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a solo home run, double and three RBI. Socha also had three hits.