LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- For a second straight day, Covenant baseball senior Andrew Beck provided a walk-off hit. After Friday's walk-off single in the 11th inning, Beck launched a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Scots a 4-3 victory over Methodist in the first game on Saturday afternoon.
Methodist bounced back in the second game and took a 15-1 victory.
Covenant won two of the three games in the weekend series and moves to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in league play. Methodist goes to 3-3 on the year and 1-2 in the USA South.
Game 1: Covenant 4, Methodist 3
After Methodist took a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth, the Scots answered in their half as Beck produced a two-run home run, his second of the season, to left field give Covenant a 4-3 victory.
Methodist led 2-0 going to the bottom of the seventh before Covenant rallied with a pair of runs. Scott Gillespie and Perry Rigby each had singles to start the frame and Alex Kerr drove in Gillespie with a one-out single to center field. Caleb Bloye followed with an RBI single to right that plated pinch-runner Jay Epperson from second to tie the game at 2-2.
In the ninth, Methodist's Pete Wildeboer led off the inning with a triple down the right field line and scored on a Ray Lanners sacrifice fly.
But Covenant would have the final answer in the bottom of the ninth. Forrest Hunter's leadoff single set the stage, but he was at second with two outs. Beck then took an 0-2 pitch from Methodist's Tyler Hardee and deposited it over the left field fence for the victory.
KC Simons, Gillespie, Rigby and Bloye each had two hits for Covenant. The Scots banged out a season-high 13 hits.
Taylor Bloye (1-0) picks up the win in relief as he threw three innings allowing one run on three hits. Starting pitcher Micah Mabe went six innings and surrendered two runs on four hits with five strikeouts.
Hardee (0-1) gets the loss for the Monarchs. Methodist starter Josh Howard worked around trouble in his six innings of work as he gave up two runs, one earned, on nine hits. Matt Jack led the Monarchs' offense by going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Game 2: Methodist 15, Covenant 1
Methodist salvaged the third and final game of the series with a 15-1, eight-inning victory over the Scots. Methodist used a four-run fourth inning and a seven-run seventh inning to blow the game open.
Alex Rodriguez went 4-for-5, while Cody Molosky, Lanners, Stephen Nalls and Hardee each had two RBIs for the Monarchs.
Gillespie finished 2-for-3 with a home run as Covenant managed just four hits off Methodist starter Travis Johnson.
Johnson (2-0) is credited with the win for Methodist after going six innings and allowing four hits and one run with seven strikeouts. Relievers Daniel Royer and Michael Inman pitched the final two scoreless innings.
Methodist scored first with a run in the top of the first inning, but that was answered quickly by Covenant in its half of the first. Gillespie blasted a solo home run, his first of the year, to left-center field in the bottom of the first to tie the score.
Methodist struck for four runs on four hits in the fourth inning and blew the game open with seven runs on seven hits in the seventh inning. The Monarchs capped the scoring with three more runs in the eighth inning.
Covenant starter Jonah Paul (1-1) picks up the loss for the Scots.
Covenant will open a three-game series against Piedmont in Demorest, Georgia, on next Friday at 7 p.m.
Be sure to follow the Scots all season long on athletics.covenant.edu and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news and other information.
