WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team completed an important sweep in a Presidents' Athletic Conference doubleheader with visiting Bethany College Friday at Ross Memorial Park.

The sweep moves W&J to 12-2 in the PAC and 22-10 overall. Bethany is now 3-11 in the league and 16-17 overall. 

Game 1 - W&J 7, Bethany 4

The Presidents started off the scoring in game one with a pair of runs in the second inning. Sam Schuster (Fairport Harbor, Ohio / Fairport Harding) and Tyler Horvat (Irwin, Pa. / Penn-Trafford) each drove in a run apiece. The Bison responded with a run of its own in the top of the third inning. 

W&J would tack on a single run in the bottom of the third and fourth innings to stretch the lead to 4-1. Evan Sante (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Plum) collected an RBI single in the third and Jacob LaDuca (Clarence, N.Y. / Canisius) added an RBI double in the fourth. 

The Bison would answer the Presidents with two runs in the top of the fifth to trim the deficit to 4-3. 

Horvat collected an RBI single to score Schuster in the sixth. Two batters later, Nolan Lutz (McDonald, Pa. / South Fayette) crushed his fourth home run of the season. His two-run shot made it 7-3 Presidents. 

Bethany scored a run in the eighth and loaded the bases in the ninth to put the tying runner on first. However, thanks to the pitching acumen of Mason Kolbe (Bradenton, Fla. / Out-of-Door Academy), W&J was able to get out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts to end the threat. 

Horvat would finish three-for-five at the plate , which included his fifth triple of the season. Schuster would end the matchup flawless with a four-for-four performance offensively. 

Nate Nolan (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) earned the victory, as he tossed an effective five innings of work. Nolan allowed three runs on five hits and struck out four. Kolbe nailed down his first collegiate save by recording the final two outs. 

Game 2 - W&J 2, Bethany 1

Game two ended up being a pitchers dual, as runs were hard to come by. Bethany starter Mark Lavezza exited the game early for disciplinary reasons, which allowed for Trey Mantle to enter the game in a matchup against the Presidents ace Tyler Horvat.

An RBI groundout by LaDuca plated Horvat to give W&J a 1-0 lead after the first inning. 

W&J would add another run in the top of the third. Lutz scored Horvat with an RBI double to make it 2-0 W&J. 

Bethany used a sac fly to cut the Presidents lead to 2-1 in the sixth. The Bison put the leadoff runner on in both the seventh and eighth innings but failed to score the tying run. 

Horvat was spectacular once again on the mound. The senior fired a complete game two hitter to improve his record to 9-2 in 2023. Horvat struck out eight and walked three over nine innings. This marks the sixth career complete game with three of those coming this season. 

Lutz would finish the Friday night series with five hits including one home run and three doubles.  

On Deck: W&J heads to Westminster on Wednesday, April 26 for a conference matchup. Start time is scheduled for 12 p.m.