Athletics | Baseball | Christopher Newport 4, Methodist 3 (DIAC Tournament)

April 17, 2003 
Late lead eludes Methodist as Christopher Newport rallies for 4-3 victory

DANVILLE, VA – If the Methodist Monarchs are to win the 2003 Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, they will have to do it the hard way.

Methodist could not hold on to a late lead on Thursday as Christopher Newport rallied for two runs in the ninth inning to pull out a 4-3 victory in the winners bracket semifinals. The defeat drops 15^th-ranked Methodist to 23-10 overall, while ninth-ranked Christopher Newport improves to 23-5.

Methodist now must work its way through the losers bracket, starting with a 10 a.m. showdown on Friday against fourth-ranked Ferrum.

Methodist took a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning, and reliever David Reece got to quick outs to put the Monarchs on the verge of victory. But Reece issued consecutive walks to Jeremy Elliott and Ricky Medina. Monarch head coach Tom Austin pulled Reece for freshman closer Blake Maxwell, but Maxwell gave up an RBI single to Matt Turner. A throwing error by Methodist scored Medina, giving the Captains a 4-3 lead.

The Monarchs started strong with three runs in the first inning on a two-run single by Jimmy Ross, while Dan Glies scored on a Christopher Newport throwing error. However, Methodist couldn’t manage any more runs against Captain starter Mike Cosby, who pitched a complete game with 13 strikeouts.

Christopher Newport scored a run in the third on an RBI triple by Turner, and a run in the eighth on a double play.

Monarch starter Adam Denning was equally impressive, scattering 10 hits over seven innings with one walk and eight strikeouts. Kevin Wallace went 3-for-5 for Methodist, while Glies went 2-for-4. Elliott, Turner and John Corbin each had two hits for Christopher Newport.