WASHINTON, PA – Chatham Baseball (16-20, 8-10 PAC) split their doubleheader with first-place Washington & Jefferson (26-9, 16-2) on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars shut out the Presidents 4-0 in game one but were defeated in the second game 8-2.
 
All of the scoring in the first game occurred in the top of the opening frame. Angelo DeLeonardis trotted home on Cooper Baxter's sacrifice fly to give Chatham the early lead. Then, with the bases full of Cougars, Tyler Cote ripped a bases-clearing double to put Chatham ahead 4-0. That would be all the insurance they would need, as Carter Beneigh, Cason Bennett and Kole Mayle combined for a shutout on the bump to give the Cougars their second all-time victory over Washington & Jefferson and first since 2021.
 
Nolan Boehm went 3-4 at the plate in game one and scored a run. Tyler Cote was 2-4 with 3 RBIs. Eddie Rueda also put together a multi-hit game for Chatham. Carter Beneigh went 6 innings in his start, striking out 4 Presidents and allowing 3 hits to earn the win. Cason Bennett tossed a shutout frame in the seventh, and Kole Mayle closed the opening game with 2 perfect innings.
 
Matt Bamford held the Washington & Jefferson offense in check for three more innings to start game two, but the Presidents finally broke through with 2 runs in the fourth. They would add 4 more runs in the sixth and 2 in the eighth while the Cougar offense was held at bay. Chatham put 2 runs on the board in the ninth when Eddie Rueda homered with two outs to bring home Angelo DeLeonardis and break the shutout.
 
Rueda was 1-4 in game two with 2 RBIs and a run scored. DeLeonardis, Baxter and Boehm were the other Cougars with hits in the second matchup. Bamford allowed 1 earned run on 3 hits with 4 strikeouts in his four-inning start.
 
Chatham will host Juniata for a single game on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.