Early returns on Sunday favor ranked teams

Jared Bairt limited Bethany to five hits in six scoreless innings.
Washington and Jefferson athletics photo

Jared Bairt tossed six scoreless innings and first baseman D.J. Michalski went 3-for-4 with three RBI as No. 21 Washington & Jefferson defeated Bethany 10-3 in PAC action on Sunday afternoon at Ross Memorial Park. The Presidents take the season series from the Bison after the team's split a doubleheader yesterday.

No. 2 Southern Maine opened their season with two wins, a 8-2 triumph over Old Westbury and a 14-1 win over Western New England. In the opening game, the Huskies spotted Old Westbury a 2-0 lead in the opening inning before coming back over the next four frames to score eight times. Southern Maine continued their hot hitting in their game with Golden Bears.

No. 20 Johns Hopkins used another explosive day at the plate combined with its deep pitching staff to claim a doubleheader sweep over visiting Oneonta. The Blue Jays improve to 4-0 on the season

No. 19 George Fox won two close games from Pacific, 2-1 and 1-0, as both teams starting pitchers pitched well. In the opener Clay Gartner out pitched Tyler Kotchik to win his fifth game of the season. In the nightcap, Pacific lefty Colin McCusker frustrated the Bruins for nine innings but was matched by George Fox right-hander Ian Buckles. The game remained scoreless until an error allowed the winning run to score.

Kurt Kempema was effective for the Cougars but the win went to the Concordia-Chicago closer.
Concordia-Chiacgo athletics photo

On the final day of No. 14 Concordia-Chicago's Spring Break trip to Tucson, Arizona, the Cougars faced a "gut check" game against the No. 9 St. Thomas. The Tommies had pummeled the Cougars 26-6 on Friday, but the Cougars pulled off a little payback of their own this morning, overcoming a two-run deficit in the eighth and then winning 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth.

No. 17 Wheaton (Mass.) continued their fast start with a doubleheader sweep of St. Joseph's (Maine) at Lake Myrtle Field. The Lyons took game one by a 5-2 score and earned a 3-1 victory in the second contest. Ryan Grant earned saves in both games, leaving him five games from tyong the D-III record for saves in a career.

No 8 Webster defeated No. 10 ranked Cortland State, 10-5, in Auburndale, Fla.  Brett Buchanan came on in relief to pick up the win. Buchanan came on with two outs in the fifth in relief of starter Isaac Behme, to snuff out a Cortland rally and pitched 3.1 innings, scattering four hits and allowing one unearned run for his first win in 2014. The Gorlok attack banged out 14 hits against seven Red Dragon pitchers in the win.

Junior third baseman Christian Demko went 4-for-5 and drove in three runs leading No. 12 Marietta to a pair of wins in the Snowbird Classic. Demko had a double and a triple on the day. Marietta defeated Wooster by the score of 7-3 to start the day and then beat Salem State 8-4 to stay perfect on the season.