FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The NC Wesleyan College baseball team slugged 13 hits in defeating rival Methodist University 9-2 on the road Tuesday in their season opener.
Senior catcher Brad Pennington led the Bishops with 3 hits on the afternoon while sophomore outfielder Zach Lyon went 2 for 3 with a home run and 4 runs scored.
Freshman 3B Tyson Bass got things rolling for the Bishops with his 2-run single in the 2nd inning while a 2-run error by Methodist in the 4th made it 4-1 Bishops.
Freshman shortstop Nathanael Hibbs then made it 7-2 in the 8th with his two-run single while Lyon knocked his home run in the 9th to make it 9-2.
Bass and Hibbs also recorded multi-hit games for Wesleyan while eight different Bishops connected with at least one base hit in the game. Sophomore outfielder Drifton Padgett knocked a double, stole two bases, and scored two runs as well.
On the Pitching side, Wesleyan got 4 solid innings from freshman starter CJ DiBenedetto as he allowed just one run on 4 hits with 2 walks and a strikeout while reliever Zach Woolard tossed two solid innings of relief to pick up the win. Freshman reliever Daniel Thompson then led the way with 5 strikeouts over his 2 and 2/3 hitless innings.
The 1-0 Bishops next return to action on Saturday when they head to Ferrum, VA for a 12 PM doubleheader. Wesleyan will then return home this Sunday at 1pm to finish their series with Ferrum.