FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- A late-inning rally fell just short as the Methodist baseball team dropped its season-opening game, 4-3, to McMurry on Friday afternoon at Armstrong-Shelley field.
 
Chris Power laced a two-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull the Monarchs (0-1) within a single run at 4-3, and MU got the game-winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the War Hawks held on to spoil MU's home opener.
 
Power's triple was part of a three-run inning and came after MU fell behind 4-0. Colin Ford led off the frame with a walk and moved up to second on Pete Wildeboer's groundout to the left side. Tyler Hardee reached via an error, which allowed Ford to move to third. Stephen Nalls followed with a fielder's choice that plated Ford and made it a 4-1 game in favor of McMurry.
 
Davis Cass followed with a single, giving MU runners on first and second, and Power's triple into the right-field corner scored both runs, unearned, and made it a one-run game. Alex Dockery ended with inning with a swinging strikeout.
 
In the ninth inning, Ray Lanners led off for MU and was robbed of a base hit by second baseman Patrick Adams, who made a ranging play to his right and threw on the run to nip Lanners at first. Alex Rodriguez kept MU's hopes alive with a double to the wall in left, but Ricky Lopez coaxed back-to-back groundouts from Ford and Wildeboer to close out the game and nail down the save.
 
Lopez was one of three relievers to come after a masterful performance by McMurry's John Eric Cortez. Cortez picked up the win (1-0) after allowing just one hit and a walk with a pair of strikeouts in 7.0 shutout innings. He did not allow his first hit until Nalls' one-out single in the sixth inning.
 
Rett Lee started for the Monarchs and picked up the loss (0-1). He allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits and a walk in 3.0 innings. Michael Inman tossed 2.0 innings of scoreless relief, and Greg Johnson and Nick Norton each worked a scoreless frame as well.
 
Power finished 1-for-4 at the plate with two RBI to lead MU. Ford walked and scored once, and Nalls was 1-for-3 with a run scored and one driven in. Rodriguez was 1-for-2 with a double.
 
For the War Hawks, Adams was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, and Ricky Garcia was 1-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Nick Marsh added one hit in three at-bats and scored once with an RBI.
 
The Monarchs return to action on day two of the Methodist Diamond Invitational on Saturday when theiy take on Lynchburg at 3:30 pm.