FAYETTEVILLE, NC-The Methodist University Monarchs jumped out to a 5-0 lead over Hampden-Sydney and held on to take the 7-4 victory while dropping the Tigers to 8-4 on the year. Hampden-Sydney did out hit the Monarchs 13 to eight, while senior Herbie Williams (Danville, VA/George Washington) posted four hits in five at bats.

Williams led off the game with a single, followed by a stolen base to reach second. Chris Martin (Chesterfield, VA/Manchester) then grounded out but advanced Williams to third. The runner attempted to reach home when Zach Harrelson (Danville, VA/George Washington) put the ball in play but was thrown out at the plate.

Junior righty James Shahayda (Virginia Beach, VA/Bayside) cruised through the first inning, but the Monarchs rattled off six hits in the second and third inning to take a 5-0 lead.

After Shahayda shut down the Methodist bats in the bottom of the fourth, Hampden-Sydney notched a two-out single from Jordan Wind (Tappahannock, VA/Essex) in the top of the fifth. After Wind stole second, a Williams RBI single put the Tigers on the board.

Hampden-Sydney cut into the lead again in the sixth, with Harrelson scoring on an Erick Herrmann (Glen Allen, VA/Deep Run) RBI single.

Methodist scored a run of its own in the bottom of the sixth, but the Tigers fired right back as Wind scored on an error in the top of the seventh to make it a 6-3 game.

The Tigers cut into the lead one more time in the top of the eighth. Freshman Andrew Tucker (Fincastle, VA/James River) hit a triple, and then a Colby Carter (Manakin-Sabot, VA/Goochland) sacrifice fly made it a 6-4 game.

After Methodist extended its lead to 7-4 in the bottom frame, Hampden-Sydney was unable to make a comeback in the final inning.

While Williams was 4-for-5 with one RBI, both Wind and Nick Caporale (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) were 2-for-4 with Wind scoring two runs.

Hampden-Sydney returns to action this Saturday, February 26, as it hosts ODAC foe Virginia Wesleyan for a conference double header. The first game is scheduled to start at 11:00 AM.