Rahm drives in two, Battling Bishops down Marlins 4-3

Rocky Mount, NC - Freshman Justin Rahm drove in the tying and winning runs on Tuesday afternoon as the 24th-ranked North Carolina Wesleyan baseball team downed visiting Virginia Wesleyan by a 4-3 score at Bauer Field. Rahm (pictured) belted his third homerun of the season to tie the game in the seventh and recorded a sac-fly RBI in the ninth to seal the victory. The Battling Bishops are now 16-6-1 on the season, while the Marlins drop to 13-7-1 overall.

Both teams got on the board with a run in the second inning. The Marlins’ Mike Marion walked and later scored on a Gary Bulman RBI-single to left center, while the Bishops’ Justin Batts singled and came around to score on a Justin Tuck infield hit.The game remained tied at 1-1 until the fourth when VWC struck again. Two Bishop fielding errors allowed Marion to reach and eventually score, giving the Marlins a 2-1 lead.

Virginia Wesleyan hurler Brett Horowitz made the slim lead stand up until the bottom of the seventh. Rahm started a two-out Bishop rally with his third homerun of the season, a solo shot to left that tied the game at 2-2. Daniel Moore then singled to center, stole second, and scored when Matt Smith delivered an RBI-single to left.

The 3-2 lead was shortlived as the Marlins tied the game in the eighth on a Matt Elliot sac-fly RBI to center. NCWC, however, would not let the game go into extra innings.

Sophomore Joel Creef led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk. After a wild pitch and balk moved him to third, VWC pitcher Chris Deanes was able to tally a strikeout, bringing Rahm to the plate with one out. Down a ball and two strikes, Rahm was forced to protect the plate on an outside pitch and fouled a ball down the right field line. Though not very deep, VWC’s first baseman was forced to make the catch with his back to the infield, allowing the speedy Creef to tag from third and score the winning run.

Freshman Andrew Webb (1-0) earned the win after recording the final out in the top of the ninth. Starter Jon Lucas went five strong innings and gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits. Deanes took the loss for the Marlins.

Both teams tallied nine hits on the day.  Smith, Rahm, and Moore had two apiece for the Bishops, while Bulman recorded two for Virginia Wesleyan.