Athletics | Baseball | Methodist 8, Christopher Newport 6

April 13, 2003 
Reece spearheads Methodist to thrilling 8-6 victory over Christopher Newport

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The Methodist Monarch baseball team hasn’t been swept in a Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series in two seasons, and the Monarchs haven’t posted a losing record in conference play since 1990. David Reece made sure that stayed the same on Sunday.

Reece pitched eight-plus strong innings to improve to 9-0 on the season as the Monarchs salvaged a split against visiting DIAC rival Christopher Newport with an 8-6 victory at Shelley Field. Methodist improves to 22-9 overall and finishes DIAC play an even 6-6, while Christopher Newport is now 21-5 overall and 9-3 in the DIAC.

A senior right-hander making only his second start of the season, Reece scattered 11 hits and six runs while recording five walks and eight strikeouts. He was hit hard early as the Captains’ Matt Turner connected on a two-run home run in the first inning and a three-run blast in the third. After that, Reece held Christopher Newport scoreless for the next four-and-a-third innings before the Captains put runners on first and second with one out.

Methodist head coach Tom Austin relieved Reece with freshman right-hander Blake Maxwell, who promptly gave up an RBI single to Chris Phaup. But Maxwell struck out Scotty George and got John Corbin to ground out to third to record the save.

Unlike Saturday when Methodist mustered only five hits, the Monarchs responded with 13 hits on Sunday. Methodist scored two runs each in the first, second and third innings, twice wiping out Christopher Newport leads.

Dan Glies drilled a triple to right field in the first, scoring Jesus Adames, and Glies later scored on an error by Phaup. Kevin Wallace had a two-run single in the second, and Jason Shipley drilled a two-run double in the third, giving Methodist a 6-5 lead.

The Monarchs stretched the lead to 7-5 in the fifth on a solo home run by Tom Matuseski, and 8-5 in the sixth on an RBI double by Adames.

Jay Lucas went 2-for-3 with two runs scored for the Monarchs, while Wallace, Shipley and Adames each went 2-for-4 and Glies went 2-for-5. Turner went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and five RBIs, while Phaup went 3-for-4.

Methodist plays its first game in the 2003 DIAC Tournament on Wednesday in Danville, Va.