BETHANY — For the first time since 2016, Bethany is headed to the Class 4A State Baseball Tournament.
The Bronchos earned a berth with a doubleheader sweep of Byng, 3-1 and 15-5, to win their area tournament.
“Great team effort,” Bethany coach Robert Lee said via text. “Guys showed tremendous guts. Long day, lots of fatigue. Showed great amounts of toughness. Very proud of our guys.”
This marks Bethany’s 11th appearance in the state tournament and fifth since the program restarted in 1991. The other six appearances came in the 1940s and 50s, including a Class B state championship in 1955.
BETHANY 3, BYNG 1
The Bronchos took advantage of four walks and two singles to score three runs in the fourth inning. The Pirates answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth.
Senior Charlie Tolle scattered three hits over six and 2/3 innings. He walked two batters and struck out 11.
Senior Andrew Taber went 1-for-3 with a double. Junior Judson Gilliland, Cooper Willis and Layton Reither each had a hit. The Bronchos walked seven times in the win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethany (27-5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Byng (23-6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
BETHANY – 2B: Andrew Taber. HBP: Charlie Tolle. SB: Karter Thomas. E: Cooper Willis 3, Layton Reither.
BYNG – 2B: Hagen Graham. HBP: Kendon Wood 2, CS: Callen Leslie.
BETHANY 15, BYNG 5
The Bronchos punched their ticket to state by scoring nine runs over the first two innings en route to a six-inning run-rule win.
Trailing 2-0 in the first inning, Bethany had three singles, three batters hit by a pitch (seven hit batsmen total for the game) and two walks in the bottom of the inning for a 5-2 lead. The trend continued in the second inning and Bethany was off to a 9-2 lead.
Reither allowed six hits over four innings, walking six batters and striking out four. Senior Brock Cross pitched the last two innings, allowing one hit and one run. He walked two batters and struck out four.
Taber went 5-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and six runs batted in.
Junior Karter Thomas was 2-for-4 with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base. Cross added a 2-for-2 game with a double, a run scored and three RBIs.
Willis, sophomore Brody McLaren and Orton each had a hit.
Junior Judson Gilliland drove in two runs, stole two bases and had a sacrifice fly.
The Bronchos racked up 12 hits and walked eight times in the win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byng (23-7) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| Bethany (28-5) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 12 | 1 |
BYNG – 2B: Ezekiel Griffin, Hagen Graham. HR: Ryan Shelton. HBP: Ezekiel Griffin. SB: Callen Leslie. E: Kendon Wood.
BETHANY – 2B: Andrew Taber, Brock Cross. HBP: Cooper Willis 2, Joe Berry 2, Judson Gilliland 2, Preston Orton. SF: Judson Gilliland. SB: Judson Gilliland 2, Karter Thomas. E: Layton Reither.
UP NEXT
The Bronchos’ state tournament run begins May 15.
Photographs courtesy of Kristie Escoe of Life in Action Photography.
West Metro Sports 