Sports Updates_600x300Men’s Basketball
The Pilots experienced another extremely successful campaign in 2014-15, finishing third in the Crossroads League with a regular-season record of 25-5 (CL 13-5). After winning back-to-back Crossroads League Tournament Championships in 2013 and 2014, the Pilots took second place in the 2015 tournament and earned an at-large bid to the 2015 NAIA National Tournament, where the team finished in the Field of 32. Highlights of the season included the program’s first win over an NAIA No. 1 team (Indiana Wesleyan on Jan. 24; score 88-85), senior Matt Schauss earning Crossroads League Player of the Year and NAIA First-Team All-American honors and sophomore transfer Clay Yeo receiving Crossroads League First-Team and NAIA Second-Team All-American honors.

Women’s Basketball
During his first year as head coach, Andrew Wodrich led the Lady Pilots to finish the 2014-15 campaign with an overall record of 10-21 and 4-14 in Crossroads League action. Fighting off injury all season, BC still managed to earn a spot in the Crossroads League postseason tournament as the eighth seed, but fell to NAIA No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan, ending the season in the quarterfinal round. The Lady Pilots bid farewell to seniors Jacy Borlik, Marissa Coolman, Alex Croy, Erin Hunt and Chelsea Ward, but are poised to make a run in 2015-16 as they return 60 percent of their offensive output from 2014-15, including Crossroads League All-Freshmen Team member Kaitlin Elsasser.

Men’s Indoor Track and Field
The Bethel men’s track and field team collected their second NCCAA Indoor National Title this winter by defeating 18 other teams en route to the title. The men collected four event national titles (two individuals and two relay teams) while 16 athletes were named NCCAA All-Americans for top-three finishes in individual events or as part of a relay team.

Women’s Indoor Track and Field
The BC women’s track and field team collected their third NCCAA Indoor National Title this winter, coming out on top of the 21-team field. Individually, four women came home with event national titles, including Junior Taylor Tepper (pole vault), seniors Cinnamon Green (weight throw), Avante Newsome-Gunn (long jump) and Ariane Bell (shot put). Bethel concluded the season at the NAIA Indoor Championships where all-American honors were earned by Tepper, and juniors Jeslyn Lewton and Whitney Grace.

Baseball
Bethel baseball returns in the spring of 2015 after a 13-34 campaign in 2014. With a new structure implemented by the Crossroads League, the 2015 season will be unlike past seasons. The Pilots are scheduled to face five league teams on two separate occasions for doubleheaders, while they are set to play each of the other four teams in one doubleheader. Rounding out the BC schedule will be clashes with Point Park University, Cleary University and cross-town rival Holy Cross. The Pilots’ seniors, Jonathon Shembarger, Andrew Whitlow, Brant Jones and Aaron Patterson, will be relied on to anchor the team through the rigorous two-month schedule.

Softball
The Bethel softball team finished last season with an overall record of 24-22 and closed the season tied for a second-place finish in the Crossroads League. After narrowly missing a bid to the opening round of NAIA Nationals, the 2015 squad is prepared to battle for a spot in the postseason tournament. Keep a close eye on Bethel’s three-time Crossroads League Pitcher of the Year, Natalie Newell, as she looks to continue her assault on the BC record book along with her fellow seniors, Kelsey Caposey, Katie Claxon and Brittany Smith, as they look to make their final season on the field one to remember.