ASHLAND, Va. - Junior outfielder Shawn Nickles (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) belted a leadoff homer in the bottom of the 10th to lead the eighth-ranked Randolph-Macon baseball team to an 8-7 win over NC Wesleyan on Thursday afternoon.

The Basics

Score: #8 Randolph-Macon 8, NC Wesleyan 7 (10 innings)

Location/Venue: Ashland, Va./Hugh Stephens Field at Estes Park

Records: R-MC 13-5, NCWC 18-9

How It Happened

• After the Battling Bishops tallied one run in the top of the first, the Yellow Jackets responded in the bottom of the frame. Junior outfielder Ryan Duphorn (Erial, N.J./Paul VI) singled off the pitcher's glove and moved to second on a walk to senior second baseman Jeff Butler (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch). After moving to third on a flyout, Duphorn came home on a base hit by junior catcher Reece Yeargain (Chester, Va./Benedictine) to tie the game at 1-1. Butler moved to third on the play and scored on a sacrifice fly by Shawn Nickles to give the home team a 2-1 edge.
• NCWC reclaimed the lead in the third before Butler led off the bottom of the third with a single and scored on a double by Yeargain to level the score at 3-3.
• R-MC would double its run total in the fifth. Junior shortstop Daniel Wilkerson (Oxford, N.C./Kerr-Vance Academy) had a leadoff single and moved to second on a base hit by Duphorn. Butler reached on an error to load the bases. Yeargain drew a walk to knock in Wilkerson, while Shawn Nickles delivered a two-run single to give the Yellow Jackets a 6-3 advantage.
• Junior Mike Nickles (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) had a one-out single and scored on a fielder's choice by sophomore DH Kevin Mooney (Williamsburg, Va./Jamestown) to give R-MC a 7-3 lead.
• The Bishops would plate four in the top of the eighth to tie the game at 7-7. After the Yellow Jackets failed to score in the eighth and ninth. Shawn Nickles deposited the ball behind the fence on a 2-0 pitch, his third homer of the season, to give R-MC an 8-7 victory.
• Senior right-hander Patrick Solomita (Chesterfield, Va./Manchester) pitched the final two frames with one hit and four strikeouts to earn the win and raise his record to 2-1.

By The Numbers

• Shawn Nickles had two hits and drove in four, while Yeargain added two hits and had three RBI.
• Wilkerson went 3 for 4 with a run in his first start of the season at short.
• Butler went 1 for 4 with three runs, while Duphorn had two hits and two runs.
• Sophomore right-hander Bryan Diehr (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis) made his second appearance of the season and tossed two scoreless innings with no hits, one walk and three strikeouts.
• Sophomore left-hander Zach Greber (Germantown, Md./Northwest) also made his second appearance of 2019, pitching one inning with no hits, no runs and one walk.

Notes

• This was the first extra-inning game of the season for the Yellow Jackets.
• R-MC has outscored its opponents 34-9 in the first inning.

Up Next

• Randolph-Macon will travel to Eastern Mennonite for a noon ODAC doubleheader on Saturday, April 6.