ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - The SU baseball team came so close to winning its first USA South Conference series of the season Sunday afternoon, but N.C. Wesleyan rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat Shenandoah 10-9 in 10 innings of the rubber game at Bauer Field in Rocky Mount.

Shenandoah (8-10 overall, 2-7 USA South) won the opening game of the series 8-5 on Saturday afternoon, but the Bishops (12-8, 4-5) took the nightcap by the same score and then got the series clincher by scoring one run in each of the last four innings Sunday.

Freshman David Jenkins (Front Royal, Va./Warren County) was 3 for 4 with and RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's win, while Nick Sborz (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) earned both the win on the mound and had two hits in three at-bats.

Sborz scattered four runs on six hits in 5.1 innings pitched before Jenkins and Gerry Sasse (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter) finished up. Sasse earned the save by retiring all four batters he faced, including working out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the sixth.

Wesleyan seized early control in the nightcap by scoring five runs in the bottom of the first off of senior J.R. Creamer (Lovettsville, Va./Loudoun County). Creamer gave up five runs on three hits and two walks before leaving without having retired a batter.

The Hornets pounded out 14 hits in the contest, but it was not enough as the Bishops answered a two run SU third with two of their own in the fourth and one more in the fifth. Senior Dusty Crostic (Chesterfield, Va./LC Bird) was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI while Josh Bosley (Oakland, Md./Garrett CC), Sborz, Mike Arvizo (Palmdale, Calif./Antelope Valley CC), and Steven Todd (Hillsboro, Va./Loudoun Valley) all had two hits.

Shenandoah rallied from a 5-4 deficit on Sunday with four runs in the fourth and another in the fifth, but Wesleyan used three hits in each of the last four innings to plate one run in each frame and steal the victory.

Sasse took the loss after yielding seven of these hits, including the game winner to Mark Wooten with no outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th.

Jenkins and Tyler Daniel (Richmond, Va./JR Tucker) were each 3 for 4 on the day with Daniel driving in two runs and Jenkins one.

Complete box scores and plays by play can be found at http://www.su.edu/athletics/bb/2004/teamstat.htm

Shenandoah hosts Oswego (N.Y.) State Tuesday afternoon in a non-league doubleheader.