MARIETTA, OH - The 17th ranked NC Wesleyan College Baseball team saw their terrific 33-win season come to an end on Saturday afternoon as they dropped their second game of the NCAA Regional 7-3 to 6th seeded Penn State Behrend in Marietta, OH.
Behrend, out of Erie, PA, got off to a quick 2-0 lead in the first off Bishop starter CJ DiBenedetto (5-3). The Lions then added two more unearned runs in the 4th off a Bishop error. DiBenedetto allowed 3 earned runs on 7 hits over 3-plus innings.
Wesleyan would get on the board in the 5th inning as Davie Morgan scored on a Jackson Murray sacrifice fly. Murray then drove in his second run of the game in the 7th inning driving in 1B Jackson Hobbs on a RBI single.
The Battling Bishops would keep fighting cutting Behrend's lead to 4-3 with another run in the 8th as Pennington singled to center and advanced to third on an error by the Lion outfielder while Drifton Padgett would come around to score in the process.
Unfortunately, PSU-B would add three unearned runs off freshman reliever Cullen Davis in the 8th to basically put the game away as they took away the momentum of a Bishop rally. Davis had pitched 4 scoreless innings before the trying 8th inning. Davis walked four but struck out six in his outing. Senior pitcher Kevin Williams came on to relieve Davis in the 8th and finish off the inning.
Seven of the nine Bishop starters recorded hits in the loss with Morgan knocking the only extra-base hit. Murray led with 2 RBIs.
PSU-Behrend (27-12) will now battle host Marietta (37-5) on Sunday afternoon in an elimination game with the winner advancing on to face top-seeded Rowan in the regional final.