FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Mathias Carter and Clay Richardson each had three base hits as the Methodist baseball team cruised past DeSales, 12-5, on Saturday afternoon at Armstrong-Shelley Field.
 
Carter went 3 for 5 with a walk, a run and an RBI, and Richardson was 3 for 4 with three RBI as the Monarchs improved to 4-4. DeSales dropped to 0-2 on the season.
 
Richardson opened the scoring for MU with an RBI single in the second inning that plated Brennen Brown for a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs tied the game at 1-1 on Tommy DePaul's RBI single in the third inning.
 
DeSales went up 3-1 in the fifth before the Monarchs erupted for six runs in the bottom of the frame. Carter led off with a triple and promptly scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-2. Alex Kachler walked with one out, and MU loaded the bases when Davis Cass doubled and Tyler Hardee was hit by a pitch. Will May followed with a two-run double, and three batters later Richardson added a two-run single that scored May and Lucas Scott for a 7-3 lead.
 
A pair of unearned runs and an RBI triple by Scott in the sixth pushed MU's lead to 10-3. The Bulldogs scored twice in the seventh, but MU got the two runs back in the eighth, including another RBI hit by May to account for the final 12-5 margin.
 
Sam Berman relieved starter Tyler Beyel in the fifth and picked up the win (1-0). He tossed 2.1 innings in relief, allowing two runs on one hit and a walk. Beyel went 4.2 innings and surrendered three runs on eight hits and a walk with one strikeout. Tyler Carmen pitched the final 2.0 innings and did not allow a hit while striking out three.
 
Austin Kroger was tagged for three runs on one hit and two hit batsmen to take the loss (0-1). Andrew Schuler had started and allowed four runs on eight hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
 
May finished 2 for 5 with three RBI and a pair of runs for MU. Lucas Scott was 2 for 4 with a triple, a run and an RBI, and Kachler was 1 for 2 with three walks and two runs.
 
DePaul led DeSales, going 3 for 5 with four RBI and a run. Preston Amato scored twice for the Bulldogs.
 
Methodist will close out play in the Diamond Invitational on Sunday against Bridgewater beginning at 2:00 pm.