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Battling Bishops and Eagles split Senior Day doubleheader
Rocky
Mount, NC - The
Battling Bishop baseball team of North Carolina Wesleyan
split Sunday afternoon’s twinbill with Mary Washington at
Bauer Field, taking game one 10-3 before falling in game two
by a 6-3 score. Prior to game one, the Bishops honored their
2008 senior class: Matt Smith, Jason Webb, Ted Williams,
Chris Pecora, and Kyle Robertson (all pictured with head
coach Charlie Long).
Robertson went on to earn the win in opener, while UMW's Seth Kaas picked up the
win in the finale.
In
game one, the Bishops jumped out to a 5-0 lead with two runs
in the first and three in the second. Smith highlighted the
offensive production with a single, double, two runs scored,
and two RBI over the two frames.
UMW
scratched a run in the third on a Riley Gorman fielder’s
choice that plated Jeff Johnson, but Wesleyan exploded for
five more runs in the fourth to pull away. Junior Travis
Beausoleil got the rally started with a solo homerun to
right field for the inning’s first score.
Down
10-1, the Eagles managed single runs in the fifth and sixth
for the 10-3 final.
Robertson earned the win on the mound, going 5.2 innings and
allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits. Junior
Jonathan Shearon tossed the final inning and a third for the
Bishops, while Andrew Cox suffered the loss for Mary
Washington.
Pecora
went 4-for-4 and Smith 3-for-4 in game one to lead
Wesleyan’s offensive efforts. Johnson finished 2-for-3 to
pace the Eagles.
Game
two saw UMW take a quick 1-0 lead with a run in the first
when Eric Rehbein singled, advanced to third on an Alex
Rossi base-knock, and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Johnson later singled and scored in the fourth, while his
teammates tacked on two more in the fifth for a 4-0
advantage.
Wesleyan cut the lead in half with two runs of their own in
the bottom of the inning as Luke Williford and Daniel Moore
led off with a single and double, respectively. They were
plated on RBI-groundouts by Smith and Beausoleil.
Unfortunately, the Eagles answered with single runs in the
sixth and seventh to go up 6-2.
The
Bishops threatened in the ninth. After scoring a run and
loading the bases, the winning run came to plate in the form
of Justin Rahm. Rehbein, however, earned the save by
recording a game-ending strikeout.
Kass
turned in a stellar performance on the mound. The senior
lefty took a no-hitter into the fourth and allowed just two
runs on four hits the rest of the way en route to the
victory. Junior Ben Moore took the loss, allowing four runs
on ten hits over 4.1 innings.
The
Bishops (28-14-1) and Eagles (26-13) will now await their
postseason fates. Both are hoping for at-large NCAA bids,
which will be announced on Wednesday.
Wesleyan’s seniors hope to
stay alive. During their tenure, the five led NCWC to four
consecutive winning seasons, a USA South Regular Season
Championship, a USA South Tournament Championship, and the
program’s 12th appearance in the Division III World Series.
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