Ferrum Drops Methodist 8-2, Advance To Sunday's Championship Game

BURLINGTON, NC - The Ferrum Panthers (20-15) remained undefeated in the USA South Conference Tournament with an 8-2 win over the Methodist Monarchs (24-9) early Saturday morning.

Ferrum's Brent Sowers went 4-for-5 on the day with two runs scored to lead the Panthers. Ryan Cooper pitched the complete game for Ferrum holding Methodist scoreless through eight innings to earn his third win of the year.

Ferrum took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Justin Franklin singled to left field to score John Sain. Sain reached first on a walk and moved to second on a single by Nick Baker. With bases loaded and two outs, Methodist pitcher Chris Toth forced Brent Sowers into a grounder to first to get out of the inning.

The Panthers' third baseman Brett Thomas made a diving stop to deny Dustin Proctor of a hit, but Jonathan Spivey got the Monarchs going with a double to left center, but another snag by Thomas and a flyout to Matt Gammon in right field left Spivey stranded on second.

Brent Sowers led off with a single to second base and advanced on a throwing error by the Monarchs first baseman Billy Quinn. Thomas hit a grounder to third, but all runners were safe on the fielder's choice. Gammon grounded out to short but scored Sowers on the play for the second run of the game. Two more groundouts ended the inning for the Panthers.

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth Jesse Fuller hit a home run just to the right of the left field foul pole to give Ferrum a 3-0 lead. Thomas led off the seventh with a single up the middle and stole second base to move into scoring position. Gammon was hit by a pitch to place runners on first and second with no outs. Sain advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt back to Toth. Michael Nolte hit one down in the dirt and loaded the bases with a fielding error. Nick Baker hit a hard ball down the first base line for the second out, but scored Thomas on the play.

The Monarchs tallied seven hits through the first eight innings, but left eight runners stranded as the Panthers held onto the 4-0 lead. Fred Geisinger entered in relief for the Monarchs at the top of the eighth and Fuller reached first on a fielding error. Sowers hit a bunt single to reach first while Fuller advanced to third on a throwing error. Daniel Heatwole grounded out to shortstop Scott Russell, but Fuller was able to score on the play. The Monarchs elected to walk Thomas, but Sain hit a RBI single through the right side to score Sowers and move Thomas to third. Pinch hitter Eric Harrell singled to right field to score both Thomas and Sain for the 8-0 lead. Baker was hit by a pitch to reach first and move Harrell to second. Geisinger got out of the inning with a strikeout.

Methodist would need a big ninth inning to get back in it. Ferrum pitcher Ryan Cooper retired the first two batters, but Brad Davis gave the Monarchs hope with a single up the middle. Brian Halpin singled to right field to move Davis to second. Both runners advanced on stolen bases with pinch hitter Philip Betterly at the plate. Betterly's single to right field scored both Davis and Halpin to cut the lead to six. Jonathan Spivey singled into left center to advance Betterly into scoring position. The rally fell short with a groundout to third.

With the win, Ferrum advances to the championship game on Sunday at 12 pm. Methodist will face the winner of Saturday's 12:30 game between NC Wesleyan and Averett.

Box Score  

Ferrum's Brent Sowers led the Panthers by going 4-for-5 with two runs scored.

Methodist's Brad Davis finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.