Rocky Mount, N.C. - North Carolina Wesleyan's baseball squad opened its 2013 season on Saturday at Bauer Field, dropping a pair of contests to Eastern Mennonite University. EMU's Daniel Stanley tossed a 3-0 shutout in the opener, while the Bishops came up short in game two's comeback bid, 4-3.
Trailing 3-0 in the nightcap, freshman Macon Hammond drove in NCWC's first run of the season with an RBI-single to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning. Fellow freshman Jason Riley followed suit with a RBI-sac fly in the sixth to make the score 3-2.
The Royals tacked on an insurance run in their final at-bat, and it proved to be crucial as the Bishops' Justin DiSanto drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the frame to once again pull NCWC to within one. Unfortunately, the Bishops would strand their 12th, 13th and 14th runners of the game when EMU's Anthony Marzullo notched the save with a groundout to short.
Six different Bishops registed hits, while junior Will Beasley took the loss on the mound, giving up three runs (two earned) over 4.2 innings.
Previously, sophomore Brad Guengerich had paced the Bishops with a 2-for-3 showing at the plate in game one. Starting pitcher Jake Swartout suffered the tough loss, allowing just one run on three hits with six strikeouts over five complete.
Wesleyan (0-2) returns to action on Thursday when the Bishops host Hampden-Sydney College at 2:30pm.