NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The 7th ranked NC Wesleyan College Baseball team dropped their rematch at CNU on Friday falling 8-7 in a back-and-forth contest.

The tough non-conference loss drops the Bishops to 23-5 overall while the Captains improve to 12-7.

Sophomore CF Drifton Padgett got the Bishops on the board first with his solo home run in the third inning. The Bishops would then score 3 more runs in the third on CNU errors as SS Nate Hibbs, 1B Jackson Hobbs and senior catcher Brad Pennington all came around to score to give Wesleyan a 4-0 lead. CNU would then come back in the 4th with an RBI single and a three-run homer to tie the game at four.

Wesleyan then took back the lead in the 5th on a Zach Lyon RBI single before CNU again tied it in the bottom half on a double to knock freshman starter CJ DiBenedetto from the game after 4 and 1/3 innings.

Then, after Pitcher of the Week, reliever Kevin Williams shut down the Captains for two and 1/3 innings, CNU would finally get to him in the 8th to score 3 runs on a wild pitch and a two-run single to take an 8-5 lead.

The never-say-die Bishops would fight back in the 9th scoring two runs on a Hobbs RBI walk and another Lyon RBI single to get within 8-7 with just one out. However, a CNU pitching change would clinch things for the Captains as they got the final two batters out with NCWC leaving the bases loaded.

Lyon led the Bishops offensively going 3 for 5 with 3 RBIs while Padgett, Hibbs, and 2B Davie Morgan also recorded two-hit games. Each team finished with 11 hits apiece.

Williams unfortunately picked up the loss falling to 3-2 on the year as he allowed 3 runs on 4 hits with a strikeout over 3 and 1/3 innings. DiBenedetto allowed 5 runs on 7 hits with a walk and 3 strikeouts.

The Bishops will now enjoy a weekend off before finally returning home on Wednesday to host William Peace at 3 pm on April 21.