FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. Playing two games with Mary Baldwin University, the Methodist baseball team was back on the home field on Saturday in USA South action. After a disappointing end to a 10-inning showdown in game one, the Monarchs responded with a three-run victory in game two.
THE ESSENTIALS
Final results: Mary Baldwin def. Methodist, 4–3 (10 Inn.); Methodist def. Mary Baldwin, 6–3
Records: Methodist 9–14 (5–3 USA South), Mary Baldwin 5–16 (3–5 USA South)
Location: Armstrong-Shelley Field; Fayetteville, N.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1
A rocky start for
Presley Patterson saw him exit the game after just two third of an inning, having given up three runs.
Andrew Bubon assumed the mound with bases loaded, striking out the first batter he faced to end the frame. Bubon remained dialed in, hurling the next eight innings without allowing a single hit until the ninth and striking out four batters along the way.
Methodist made up ground offensively in starting in the fifth with a two-out triple by
Brandon Mauger and an RBI infield single by
Israel Ortiz. In the eighth,
Jackson Kuhn singled up the middle with two outs to drive in Mauger from second base, pulling the Monarchs within one run. With one out in the bottom of the ninth,
Kade Bell launched a double into left field, then advanced and scored on back-to-back singles by
Austin Rinzel and Mauger to tie the game at 3–3. The Fighting Squirrels recorded two hits in the top of the 10th that led to one run, giving the visitors a 4–3 advantage. In the bottom of the inning, Methodist found itself with runners on second and third and only one out, then saw bases loaded after an intentional walk. The next two batters both put the ball on the ground in the infield, and Mary Baldwin made the necessary plays to prevent a score and end the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2
Bryson Pope forced the first six batters he faced into outs, then ran into some trouble in the top of the third. After a double and two walks loaded the bases, Pope walked a third consecutive batter to give the Fighting Squirrels the first run of the game. Head coach
Spencer Martin stuck with the freshman despite the Monarchs only having one out, and he showed resilience, forcing the next batter to fly out and the following batter to ground into the third out of the frame.
Methodist tied the score at 1–1 in the bottom of the third on a Mauger sacrifice fly that brought Bell across the plate. After a scoreless fourth, the Monarch bats erupted in the fifth inning, producing four hits and three runs. All three runs were batted in by
Blake Freeman, who doubled to deep left-center field with the bases juiced.
The Monarchs did more damage in the seventh with the bases loaded once again. Kuhn sent a ball through the left side of the infield for an RBI single, then
Ethan Golemo recorded a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Ortiz.
Bryce Mauger pitched the final two innings for Methodist, allowing no base runners in the eighth before conceding a pair of runs in the ninth. With two runners on and the tying run at the plate, Mauger kept his composure and forced the final batter to ground out for the third out.
STAT FACTS
Rinzel and
Brandon Mauger each tallied a team-high four hits on the day.
Mary Baldwin's four hits in Saturday's first game are the fewest the Monarchs have given up in a loss since the season opener against Virginia Wesleyan University, when the Marlins defeated Methodist 2–1 on three hits. The Fighting Squirrels benefitted from five walks in the first inning on Saturday.
UP NEXT
Methodist and Mary Baldwin square off in a series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
