FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. Opening conference play in style, the Methodist baseball team held on to victory in a back-and-forth game with Southern Virginia University on Friday, fending off the Knights for an 8–6 win. The Monarchs entered the bottom of the eighth down by one but emerged with a two-run lead before holding the visitors scoreless in the ninth.
THE ESSENTIALS
Final results: Methodist def. Southern Virginia, 8–6
Records: Methodist 5–10 (1–0 USA South), Southern Virginia 2–13 (0–1 USA South)
Location: Armstrong-Shelley Field; Fayetteville, N.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Austin Rinzel scored the first run of the ballgame, crossing home on a sacrifice fly by
Israel Ortiz in the first inning. In the top of the third, Southern Virginia's Seth Lloyd drove in a run to tie the score at one run apiece.
Methodist regained the lead in the bottom of the third, with Rinzel scoring on an errant throw by the right fielder. In the top of the fourth, SVU pitcher and skilled batter Zack Geertsen skied a ball into right field that carried all the way over the wall, tying the game at 2–2. The Knights captured their first lead of the contest in the top of the fifth, briefly going ahead 3–2, but the Monarchs were quick to answer in the bottom of the inning.
Bryce Mauger singled through the left side of the infield, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Rinzel. With his brother in scoring position,
Brandon Mauger launched a ball into left field, trotting into second base for an RBI double. Two batters later,
Blake Freeman put a ball into center field that allowed
Brandon Mauger to come around, giving Methodist a 4–3 advantage.
After
Presley Patterson rounded out his pitching performance with a scoreless sixth inning,
Clay Pridgen held the Knights to no runs in the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, Rinzel led off for the Monarchs in spectacular fashion, drilling a ball over the left-field wall for the first homer of his collegiate career. The solo shot provided Methodist a two-run lead, but Southern Virginia wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet. The Knights put up three runs on
Jackson Kuhn in the top of the eighth (all unearned) to go ahead 6–5.
The first three Methodist batters in the bottom of the eighth all reached base, so with one out, Rinzel stepped up with an RBI single to right field that tied the game. He was followed by
Brandon Mauger, who recorded his second double of the afternoon to bring the winning run and an insurance run across the plate. Kuhn pitched a clean ninth — just as he did on Wednesday versus Belhaven — to help ensure the Methodist win.
STAT FACTS
Rinzel finished the day a perfect 4-for-4 along with a sacrifice bunt, improving his batting average from an already-stout .491 to an incredible .525 on the season. He's had a hit in 10 consecutive games and 14 out of 15 contests to start the season. It's his first four-hit game of the season, but his 10th multi-hit game and seventh game with at least three base knocks.
Brandon Mauger now has back-to-back games with three hits. Friday's two-double performance was his second of the season.
UP NEXT
Methodist and Southern Virginia square off twice on Saturday, with the first pitch of game one set for noon.
