photo gallery: https://clewisncwc.smugmug.com/2-9-2020-NCWC-Baseball/

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - The NC Wesleyan College baseball team split their doubleheader with Eastern Mennonite University (Va.) during opening weekend on Sunday in Rocky Mount. Wesleyan won game one 3-1 before dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker in game two.

GAME 1

Wesleyan took game one 3-1 on 10 hits as they out hit the Royals 10-4 led by multi-hit games from a trio of seniors including outfielder Max Johnson, shortstop Alec Titmus and catcher Brad Pennington. Each tallied two hits while Titmus and Pennington drove in runs on an RBI walk and RBI double respectively.

Johnson helped get the Bishops on the board first in the third inning leading off with a single before stealing 2nd and 3rd base and coming around to score on a throw. Pennington, pictured below, then drove Titmus in, who had singled, with a double but Wesleyan could not add any more runs until the 6th when Titmus' RBI walk drove in Josh Kellogg, who had singled.

Junior starter Derrick Carter picked up the win throwing 4 innings allowing just one hit and one run on 3 walks and 2 strikeouts while three relievers combined to shut out the Royals the rest of the way. Freshman reliever CJ DiBenedetto and senior Galen Beaver tossed scoreless frames while senior Noah Shrock came on for the save striking out three. 

GAME 2

Sophomore DH Jackson Murray got the Bishops on the board first in the 4th inning driving in Johnson with an RBI single. Johnson had singled to start it off and advanced to second on a sac bunt and to third on a stolen base. 

Unfortunately, EMU would get to game two starter Drew Tubb for one run in the 5th and reliever Joel Figueroa for the go ahead run. Wesleyan then loaded the bases in the bottom of the 5th but came up empty. 

Wesleyan then tried to tie the game in the 6th as Murray hit a one-out triple, but when he tagged up on a sacrifice fly later in the inning, his run did not count due to another baserunner being doubled off first base on the flyout to end the inning. 

Tubb went 4 innings allowing 3 hits and 1 run on a walk and 4 strikeouts. Sophomore reliever Zach Woolard then struck out three over 2 scoreless innings.

Wesleyan falls to 1-2 on the young season and will next remain home to host Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday at 2:00 PM.