Bethlehem Academy Baseball Falls at Home Monday

The United South Central Rebels broke a 7-7 tie with a run in the top of the 7th inning to defeat Faribault Bethlehem Academy 8-7 at Bell Field in Faribault today.  The Rebels had 14 hits and 5 errors and the Cardinals 10 hits and 4 errors.  United South Central took a 2-0 lead after two innings with junior Cardinal Zach Van Thomme on the mound.  The Rebels collected a run in the first with two outs when senior Levi Thisius clubbed an RBI double scoring sophomore A.J. Kloos.  The second inning opened with a Cardinal error, Junior Joe Bushlack bunted junior Sam Zebro to second and was safe at first base.  Junior Sean Doyle sacrificed Zebro to third and Bushlack to second.  Following a walk sophomore Isaac Meyer was hit by a pitch and United South Central was ahead 2-0.

Bethlehem Academy would score four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead.  With one out freshman Jarrett Malecha singled to right.  Senior Jameson Susen went in to run for Malecha.  Van Thomme singled so runners were at first and second.  Junior Jack Clark went in the game to run for the pitcher.  Eighth grader Aiden Tobin was safe on an error loading the bases.  Freshman Lucas Linneman has an RBI walk, freshman Kade Robb hits a sacrifice fly scoring Clark for the second out.  Sophomore Josh Oathoudt hit a solid single to score Tobin and Linneman scored on an error to give the Cardinals the lead.

United South Central scored two runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 4 and added three runs in the sixth to take a 7-4 lead.

The Cardinals scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game again.  Clark singled, Robb singled and Clark went to third base.  Oathoudt had an RBI single.  Following a strikeout sophomore Spencer Ell hit a single to load the bases.  A force out at the plate was out number two and the bags were juiced again.  Malecha hit a grounder resulting in an error and two runs scored to tie the game going into the scheduled last inning of the contest.

With Oathoudt pitching there were back to back strikeouts to start the top of the seventh.  One looking and one swinging.  Kloos then doubled and sophomore Zach Niebuhr also doubled to plate the winning run for the Rebels.

It looked like the Cardinals had a chance in the bottom of the seventh when Tobin began the inning reaching safely on a error.  However, Clark grounded into a double play and the next batter grounded out to end the game.

Van Thomme went the first five innings on the hill for Bethlehem Academy throwing 97 pitches, 55 for strikes.  He gave up 4 runs, 1 earned, struck out 5 and walked 2.  Oathoudt threw the final two innings with 43 pitches, 31 for strikes, 4 runs all earned, 3 strikeouts and no walks.

Junior Sam Zebro went the first 5 1/3 innings for United South Central.  Threw 101 pitches, 64 for strikes with 3 strikeouts, 3 walks, 7 runs, 1 earned and senior Hunter Johnson threw the final 1 2/3 of hitless ball with no walks and no strikeouts.

Oathoudt had two hits and two RBI, Malecha a pair of hits and two RBI, Ell and Van Thomme also had a pair of hits for the Cardinals.

Bethlehem Academy is now 2-7 and travels to Schaeffer Academy in Rochester Tuesday.