FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The NC Wesleyan College baseball team held on for a 10-9 win over East Division rival Methodist on Saturday to forge a tie at the top of the East Division with one game left to play in the regular season.
The teams will now play a Division Championship Game on Sunday at 1:00 pm in Fayetteville. The winner of that game will then host a 4-team USA South playoff tournament next week.
Junior CF Drifton Padgett led the Bishops with a 4-hit game scoring three runs while sophomore 1B Jackson Hobbs and junior catcher Jean Lagreca each recorded three-hit games apiece to lead the Bishops 17-hit attack. All 17 hits were singles as well.
Sophomore starter Danny Thompson tossed 6 and 1/3 strong innings allowing 5 runs on 6 hits walking three and striking out seven to pick up the win improving to 5-2. Senior reliever Drew Tubb then came on in the 7th to relieve Thompson and allowed just one run on 2 hits and a homer with a strikeout as Wesleyan would lead 8-6 after 7 innings.
Junior reliever Chandler Padgett then came on in the 8th to close out the game throwing a scoreless 8th before the Bishops scored two insurance runs in the 9th on RBI singles from senior LF Zach Lyon and Hobbs to take a 10-6 lead. The runs were needed as MU took advantage of some Bishop infield errors in the bottom of the 9th to score three runs off Padgett but he settled down to record two fly outs and a strikeout to end the game. Padgett's final line had him allowing just 2 earned runs on 4 hits and one walk while striking out two over two innings.
Wesleyan originally built their 8-2 lead by scoring two runs in the second on an MU error and a Javier Quintana RBI single before MU tied it at 2 in the fourth. Wesleyan then added another run in the 6th on a Cord Butler RBI single before scoring 5 runs in the 7th to lead 8-2. In the 7th, Lyon knocked a two-run single while Padgett and DH Blake Scott added RBI singles as well. Butler also added an RBI groundout to finish out the inning.
All nine of the Bishop starters recorded a hit in the win as four Bishops registered multi-hit games.
The teams are now even at 16-4 in division play while the Bishops improve to 24-15 overall.