BREVARD, N.C. In two games with the Brevard College Tornados on Sunday, the Methodist baseball team claimed a seven-inning win in the first contest before falling by two runs in the series finale.
For game one of Sunday's doubleheader, the Monarchs and Tornados picked things up in the top of the first after having to suspend the contest on Saturday due to lighting.
THE ESSENTIALS
Final results: Methodist def. Brevard, 14–2 (7 Inn.); Brevard def. Methodist, 5–3
Records: Methodist 8–12 (4–2 USA South), Brevard 14–8 (3–3 USA South)
Location: Gil Coan Field; Brevard, N.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1
Austin Rinzel and
Brandon Mauger led the game off by both reaching on defensive errors. With two runners on,
Israel Ortiz singled up the middle to score a run, but a solo homerun in the bottom of the inning would tie the score at 1–1.
Mauger produced an RBI single in the third to give the Monarchs a one-run advantage. With the lead in hand, the Methodist bats really came to life in the next two innings, with four runs on four hits in the fourth and six runs on six hits in the fifth. Brevard added just one run to its total in the fourth, but the Monarchs were sailing. For good measure, Rinzel recorded an RBI double in the sixth inning, then advanced to third on an error before scoring on a wild pitch. After
Bryson Pope's five innings of work on the mound were done,
Garrett Brouwer and
Dalton Juden each tossed a hitless inning to secure the win, with Juden logging two backwards Ks.
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2
With runners on the corners and one out, Ortiz was thrown out trying to take second, but the diversion allowed Rinzel to score from third. Brevard matched Methodist's run in the bottom of the third, tying the score at 1–1.
After a scoreless fourth,
Parker Evans led the fifth inning off with a home run to left field to put the Monarchs in front 2–1. Methodist left the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, but a solo shot by
Kade Bell in the seventh inning extended the team's lead.
Sean Jennison pitched a full six innings while conceding just one run, but he walked two batters to start the seventh. After one out, he was relieved by
Clay Pridgen, who quickly got out number two. However, the Tornados rattled off four straight singles, scoring three runs to go ahead 4–3. The Methodist offense was unable to put a runner on base in the eighth or ninth, while Brevard added a run in the eighth to make the final score 5–3.
STAT FACTS
Bell had a monster day, batting 6-for-9 with two RBI and five runs scored, including his first homer as a Monarch. His four hits in the win are his single-game season best.
Rinzel's hit streak is now up to 15 games, while his reached-base streak is at 22 games (dating back to last season).
UP NEXT
Methodist has a mid-week game against Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The Captains are ranked 20th in the latest d3baseball.com Top 25 poll, with a new poll to be released Tuesday morning. Over the weekend, the Captains defeated 25th-ranked Randolph-Macon College and Hampden-Sydney College — two upcoming non-conference opponents of the Monarchs.
