FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. Claiming win number one under interim head coach
Spencer Martin, the Methodist baseball team opened the 2026 season with a doubleheader split versus Virginia Wesleyan University on Friday. The Monarchs lost the first game 2–1 before bouncing back with a 6–1 victory in the second game of the day.
THE ESSENTIALS
Final results: Virginia Wesleyan def. Methodist, 2–1; Methodist def. Virginia Wesleyan, 6–1
Records: Methodist 1-1, Virginia Wesleyan 1-1
Location: Armstrong-Shelley Field; Fayetteville, N.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1
Jackson Kuhn had an electric start on the mound, recording six strikeouts in the first two innings. After three innings, Virginia Wesleyan's Brandon Drewry had racked up four strikeouts of his own. The scoreless stalemate was broken in the top of the fourth when the Monarchs allowed an unearned run to cross home plate, then Kuhn walked a batter with bases loaded to make the score 2–0. In the bottom of the inning,
Austin Rinzel singled to right field, then stole second and third to put himself 90 feet away with two outs. Kuhn delivered an RBI-single through the left side, but the Monarchs would leave two runners on base without scoring again.
Andrew Bubon took the mound to start the fifth and ended up seeing the game through to the finish. Across five innings of work, the senior tallied seven strikeouts (a career best during his time at Methodist) while allowing no hits and walking just two batters. However, the Monarchs were unable to produce any more runs on offense, leading to the one-run loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2
The Marlins jumped on
Presley Patterson right out of the gate, piecing two hits and a wild pitch together for a run in the opening frame. He settled in, then watched his team take the lead in the bottom of the second as the Monarchs benefited from an error in the outfield.
Joey Sweeney reached second base on a dropped fly ball, bringing
Israel Ortiz home from third on the swing. Sweeney advanced to third on a wild pitch during the next at-bat, then scored unearned on a
Blake Freeman single.
Kade Bell scored on a wild pitch to give the Monarchs a 3–1 lead in the fourth, then Kuhn crossed the plate unearned in the fifth to make Methodist's advantage 4–1. Patterson ended up turning in a great performance, tossing 98 pitches while allowing just three hits across six innings.
Clay Pridgen brought the intensity in relief of Patterson, striking out a pair of Marlins in the seventh. He took down a total of six batters via strikeout as he finished out the final three innings, earning his first collegiate save.
Brandon Mauger and
Jesse Osborne drew RBI walks in the eighth inning to extend Methodist's lead, which ended up being a five-run difference.
STAT FACTS
Methodist pitchers logged 20 strikeouts over 18 innings on Friday, allowing just two earned runs.
UP NEXT
Methodist completes its series with Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday. The Monarchs will recognize former head coach Tom Austin with a pregame ceremony beginning at 12:45 p.m., where Austin will throw out the first pitch. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
