Baseball | 5/6/2026 10:30:00 PM
WASHINGTON, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The opening day of the 2026 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Baseball Tournament was highlighted by wins from No. 6 Chatham University, No. 2 Washington & Jefferson College and fourth-seeded Bethany College. The Tournament is being held at W&J's Ross Memorial Park.
The Tournament resumes Friday morning at 11 am with an elimination game between No. 1 Westminster College and No. 5 Grove City College. Game E at 2:30 pm will have Chatham taking on No. 3 Allegheny College, with the Gators needing a win to stay alive. W&J and Bethany will face off in Game F at 6 pm Thursday with a spot in the winner's bracket final on Friday awaiting the victor. The Tournament's full schedule is below.
Every game of the 2026 PAC Baseball Tournament will once again be live streamed by our friends at the PAC Sports Network. The link to access all the free-to-view broadcasts is above.
The PAC Championship Tournament winner will also claim the conference's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Selections for the Division III Championship are scheduled to be announced Monday, May 11 with regional preliminary round play slated for Friday-Sunday, May 15-17.
Game A - No. 6 Chatham 9, No. 1 Westminster 0
- Chatham (29-12) used big hits and a complete game shutout from starting pitcher Cason Bennett to open the PAC Tournament with a convincing win.
- The Cougars jumped in front 3-0 in the first inning with a three-run double by DH Caleb Jones.
- That lead grew to 5-0 in the third inning when Chatham catcher Matt Brandt stroked a two-run double.
- With his offense staking him out to a lead, Bennett escaped Westminster (28-11) threats through nearly every inning. The Titans had leadoff singles in five of the first six innings, but a pair of double plays and key strikeouts helped Bennett keep Westminster off the board.
- The lead stayed at 5-0 until the ninth when Chatham added on with a three-run homer by third baseman Cooper Baxter and an RBI single by right fielder Keegan McGraw.
- After stranding 11 Westminster runners through the first seven innings, Bennett slammed the door on the win by retiring the final seven batters.
- Bennett's final line included scattering nine hits and two walks with six strikeouts, as he threw the first complete-game shutout in the PAC Tournament since W&J's Riley Groves blanked Thiel on one hit in a 4-0 victory in the 2016 Tournament.
- The Cougars finished with eight hits in the win, their first PAC Tournament win in program history, including two by senior second baseman Eddie Rueda, who also scored three runs.
- Of the nine Westminster hits in the game, catcher Braden Zeigler and first baseman/right fielder Grayson Eicher had two apiece.
- The Chatham victory marked the first time the top seed lost the opening game of the PAC Tournament since No. 4 Saint Vincent edged No. 1 W&J 4-2 in the 2018 Tournament.
Game B - No. 2 Washington & Jefferson 5, No. 5 Grove City 1
- The second game of the Tournament saw another stellar pitching performance, as W&J's Brendan Cruz threw a complete-game three-hitter to lift the Presidents to the win.
- W&J (29-11) plated the first run of the game on an RBI single by center fielder Paddy Hernjak in the bottom of the second inning.
- Grove City (19-17) drew even in the top of the third inning when third baseman Nick Remish cranked a solo homer to left field.
- The Presidents took the lead for good in the bottom of third, breaking the tie with an RBI single by catcher Luke Alvarez and making it 3-1 on a sacrifice fly by right fielder Andrew Miko.
- After W&J added a fourth run in the fourth inning, the Presidents scored the final run of the game in the seventh when Miko launched a solo shot over the left field wall.
- On the mound, Cruz was in control after the home run in the third. He allowed just two runners over the final six innings.
- Cruz set down the final nine hitters to close out the game, as he gave up one run on three hits with eight strikeouts and zero walks to improve his record to 10-0 this year.
- Highlighting W&J's 10-hit attack on offense was Alvarez, Hernjak and second baseman Teddy Platt with two hits each.
Game C - No. 4 Bethany 11, No. 3 Allegheny 5
- In their first PAC Tournament game since 2019, Bethany scored five runs in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth to pull away for an 11-5 win over Allegheny.
- Third baseman Gian DeGenova had the big bat in the Bison line-up with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs.
- Second baseman Jaden Nestor-Fox went 3-for-5 as well with one RBI and two runs scored, while right fielder Marco Gonzalez stroked four hits and shortstop Even Hegarty had two hits and scored twice.
- The offensive support was more than enough for Bethany starting pitcher Payton Zupko, who earned the win after allowing two earned runs in six innings with nine Ks.
- In the process, Zupko broke the program's single-season strikeout record (65).
- For Allegheny, left fielder Ryan Cochran had a double, single, two RBIs and one run scored, while right fielder Noah Philson and center fielder Michael Alspaugh both had two hits.
2026 PAC Baseball Championship Tournament
All games at Ross Memorial Park - Washington, Pa.
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Game A - No. 6 Chatham 9, No. 1 Westminster 0
Game B - No. 2 Washington & Jefferson 5, No. 5 Grove City 1
Game C - No. 4 Bethany 11, No. 3 Allegheny 5
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Game D - No. 1 Westminster vs No. 5 Grove City - 11 am
Game E - No. 6 Chatham vs No. 3 Allegheny - 2:30 pm
Game F - No. 2 W&J vs No. 4 Bethany - 6 pm
Friday, May 8, 2026
Game G (see below) - 11 am
Game H (see below) - 2:30 pm
Game I (see below) - 6 pm
Saturday, May 9, 2026
Games J - time TBA
Game K - If necessary 30 min after
If 4 teams remain after Game F:
Game G - Winner of Game D vs Loser of Game F
Game H - Winner of Game E vs Winner of Game F
Game I - Winner of Game G vs Loser of Game H
Game J - Winner of Game H vs Winner of Game I
Game K - If Necessary
If 5 teams remain after Game F
Game G - Loser of Game E vs Loser of Game F
Game H - Winner of Game D vs Winner of Game E
Game I - Winner of Game F vs Winner of Game G
If 2 teams remain after Game I
Game J Winner of Game H vs Winner of Game I
Game K If Necessary
If 3 teams remain after Game I:
Game J - Winner of Game H vs Loser of Game I
Game K - Winner of Game I vs Winner of Game J