FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – A four-run seventh inning propelled the No. 8 Methodist baseball team to an 8-5 win against Greensboro at Armstrong-Shelley Field on Saturday afternoon.
 
Prior to the contest, Methodist University President Dr. Ben Hancock threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
 
The victory moves the Monarchs to 22-6 on the season behind an 11-3 mark in league play. Meanwhile, the Pride fall to 11-15 overall and 7-8 in conference games.
 

MU scored first in the bottom of the first as Alex Kachler and Will May both singled to left field with two outs. Tucker Criswell hit a single up the middle to score Kachler and Davis Cass followed with an RBI single to right to score May, 2-0. The Monarchs added another run in the third as Matthias Carter scored on an error on a sacrifice bunt.
 
The Pride took advantage of a two fielding errors by the Monarchs to plate four runs in the top of the fifth frame to assume a 5-4 lead. Brady Dignan started the inning with a double to left before scoring on a base hit to left that rolled away from the fielder, 3-1. Another double ran the score to 3-2 before a single combined with a two-base error gave GC the 4-3 advantage.
 
In the aforementioned seventh inning, Parker Clayton reached base on an error with one out. On the following at bat, Elliot Manley dropped down a sacrifice bunt, but the ball was thrown into right field allowing each runner to advance before an errant throw by the right fielder in an attempt to get Clayton out at home allowed Manley to cross as well, 5-4. Three batters later, Kachler doubled in Carter and May followed with an RBI double of his own to set the score at 7-4.
 
The Monarchs added an insurance run in the eighth as Manley reached on an error on a chopped over the middle with runners on the corners, 8-4. The Pride got one run back in the top of the ninth inning as Dignan reached second after a wild pitch and scored on a single to left, but the rally fell short.
 
Seth Beard (ND) pitched 4.2 innings and surrendered four runs (3 ER) on four hits with four strikeouts in the start. Kevin Williams tossed 3.1 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits to pick up his second win in as many appearances. Will Walker also pitched a scoreless inning as he pitched the ninth frame.
 
Tyler Garam (2-3) was strapped with the loss after giving up seven runs (2 ER) on eight hits with four strikeouts and a pair of walks in 6.2 inning.
 
Carter, Cass, Kachler and May each had two hits, while Carter and Kachler each scored two runs. For the Pride, Brayden King and Tim Osborne registered a pair of hits apiece, while Dignan scored twice and doubled.
 
Methodist returns to action on Tuesday, April 3, for a potential top-10 match up with Randolph-Macon. Both teams were ranked inside the top 10 in the latest D3Baseball.com poll, with the Monarchs at No. 8 and the Yellow Jackets sitting at No. 10. The game is set to begin at 3:30 pm at Armstrong-Shelley Field.