Diamond Bishops split pair, prepare for USA South Tourney

Bridgewater, VA - The Battling Bishop baseball team of North Carolina Wesleyan split a pair of non-conference road games on Sunday and Monday, downing York College by an 11-6 score and falling to Bridgewater 5-1. The two contests served as the Bishops' final tune-ups before entering this upcoming weekend's USA South Conference Tournament. Wesleyan will enter the tourney with a 24-11-1 overall record.

At York, Matt Smith gave the Bishops a quick 1-0 advantage when he led off the game with his third homerun of the season. Wesleyan managed a 4-2 lead before the Spartans put up a four-spot in the bottom of the fourth inning to go up 6-4.

The Bishops tied the score with single runs in the fifth and seventh, and NCWC went on to secure the win with five runs over the eighth and ninth stanzas. The four-run ninth was capped by a three-RBI double by junior Justin Tuck.

Freshman Andrew Webb (3-1) earned the win in relief after tossing 2.1 scoreless innings.

At Bridgewater, the Bishops managed just three hits on the day, while their single run came on a Jason Webb homer in the fifth.

Doug Roenker (2-2) took the loss on the mound.

Wesleyan will now prepare for the 2008 USA South Conference Tournament to be held in Burlington, NC. First round play begins on Thursday when the 2nd-seeded Bishops take on 7th-seeded Averett at 4:30 p.m. NCWC swept a two-game set with the Cougars earlier in the season.

Complete coverage can be found at http://www.methodist.edu/monarchs/baseball/2008usasouth.htm, and the winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAAs.

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