Bishops Rally to Upend Marlins

Brad Pennington, courtesy of Carl Lewis
Brad Pennington, courtesy of Carl Lewis

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - The NC Wesleyan College baseball team stormed back in the 7th inning with 4 runs to steal a 4-3 win against Virginia Wesleyan in Rocky Mount on Wednesday.

VWU struck first with a leadoff solo home run in the top of the first off Bishop starter Galen Beaver. Beaver would then go on to shut down the Marlins over his final three innings. Freshman reliever Chandler Padgett then came on in the 5th and proceeded to throw two scoreless frames before allowing 2 runs (1 earned) in the 7th as VWU took a 3-0 led.

Wesleyan then mounted their comeback in the bottom of the 7th. Wesleyan got their first run as senior catcher Nick Beaver came around to score on a throwing error from the Marlin shortstop which advanced sophomore LF Zach Lyon, who singled, and senior RF Max Johnson to 2nd and 3rd. Senior shortstop Alec Titmus then followed with a 2-run single driving in Lyon and Johnson before senior 2B Brad Pennington drove in the winning run with a single to center after Titmus advanced to third on a wild pitch. 

Junior reliever Kevin Williams then finished the game throwing 1 and 2/3 innings with 2 strikeouts to pick up the save. Padgett got the win throwing 3 total innings with 2 walks and a strikeout while Beaver tossed 4 innings allowing 3 hits, a walk, and a strikeout.

Offensively, even as the Bishops were held scoreless for the first 6 innings, they still managed to outhit the Marlins 8-3 on the day led by Titmus' multi-hit game which included a single, a double and a stolen base. Johnson also tripled while senior 1B Trey Posilero doubled. 

Wesleyan improves to 2-2 on the season while dropping VWU to 0-2. The Bishops are back in action on Monday afternoon when they remain home to host conference rival Pfeiffer University at 2 PM in a non-conference game.