Baseball Bishops win third straight, down Tigers 11-3

Hampden-Sydney, VA - Behind a 4-for-5 showing at the plate by senior Matt Smith (pictured), the baseball Bishops of North Carolina Wesleyan earned an 11-3 win over Hamden-Sydney on Monday afternoon at Yank Bernier Field.  The Bishops, who avenged a 3-0 loss to HSC earlier in the season, ripped 18 hits on the afternoon en route to their fifth victory in the last six games. The Tigers managed only three runs despite getting 11 hits.  With the loss, Hampden-Sydney drops to 10-17 on the season, while North Carolina Wesleyan improves to 19-7-1 overall. 

Wesleyan took an early lead in the top of the third inning as Chris Pecora doubled home two runs to help the Bishops build a 3-0 advantage.  NCWC would add two runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth before the Tigers would get on the board. HSC’s Todd Harrell scored on a Zach Harrelson single in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 8-1. 

Trailing 9-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, Tiger senior David Toney hit a two-run homer to cut the score to 9-3, but in the top of the ninth, the Bishops added two more runs to secure the 11-3 final.

Hampden-Sydney starter Adam Hodges took the loss for the Tigers as he worked five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits.  Justin Diener earned the victory for NC Wesleyan as the freshman worked eight innings, allowing three runs on ten hits, while striking out eight.

The Bishops return to USA South action this weekend when they travel to Averett University. The two-game set kicks off Saturday and concludes on Sunday. Both games are slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.