Wesleyan baseball wins pair of slugfests, sweeps Ferrum

Ferrum, VA - The Battling Bishop baseball team of North Carolina Wesleyan ran its current win streak to five games on Sunday and Monday, sweeping a pair of USA South slugfests at Ferrum College by 19-18 and 12-8 scores, respectively. Senior Luke Williford (pictured) led the way in the two-game set, going
a combined 8-for-11 with four RBI and eight runs scored, while teammate Justin Batts went 6-for-11 with two homers, eight RBI, and four runs scored. The Bishops are now 17-11 overall and more importantly, remain atop the league standings with a 5-1 conference mark.

In Sunday's game, the Bishops showed off their power at the plate by blasting a homerun in each of the first five innings. Senior Zollie Woodlief got things started in the first with a two-run blast to left field, while sophomore Justin Rahm led off the second with a solo shot of his own.

It was Batts' turn in the third as he belted a two-run homer to center, and Williford followed suit in the fourth with a three-run blast.  Woodlief connected on his second round-tripper of the game in the fifth, and when the dust settled after a two-run sixth, the Bishops held a comfortable 16-6 lead heading into the final three frames.

Ferrum (10-9, 2-4 USAC), however, would not go down easily as the Panthers plated seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull within three at 16-13.

The Bishops answered with a trio of runs in the eighth as Williford, Batts, and Woodlief each recorded an RBI, and the insurance runs proved to be crucial as the Panthers scored five runs over their final two at-bats to pull within one.  With the tying runner on first, however, sophomore Andrew Webb secured his second save in as many days by forcing a pop-up to first.

Starter Jonathan Lucas (1-2) got the win for Wesleyan, allowing ten hits and six runs (three earned) over 5.1 innings of work.  He also walked two and struck out four. Max Knowles and John Child combined to go three innings and give up 12 runs (seven earned) before Webb came on in the ninth. As a team, the Bishops committed five fielding errors that led to eight unearned runs.

Williford finished with five hits, four RBI, and four runs scored, while Woodlief and Rahm each tallied four hits. Woodlief drove in a team-high six runs in the contest.

On Monday, Wesleyan raced out to a 9-0 lead after five complete thanks in part to a five-run first inning that saw Batts, Woodlief, Tuck, Rahm, and Daniel Moore each drive in a run. Batts later blasted a two-run homer in the second to pad the Bishops' lead.

The Panthers plated a pair of scores in the fifth and made a game of it in the eighth by putting up a six-spot. With their lead cut to 10-8, the Bishops add two insurance runs in the ninth for the 12-8 final.

Senior hurler Ben Moore (4-1) earned the victory on the mound, going eight complete and allowing eight runs on 15 hits. Freshman Ben Franceschi tossed a scoreless ninth.

The Bishops finished with 20 hits as a team, led by Batts' 4-for-6 performance. Williford, Rahm, and Moore finished with three hits apiece.

Wesleyan returns to action on Tuesday night when the Bishops travel to Barton College. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Fleming Stadium in Wilson.
 

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