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BURLINGTON, N.C. — Fifth-seeded Ferrum College avoided elimination with a 6-2 upset of top-seeded N.C. Wesleyan College on the opening day of the USA South Conference Tournament on Thursday night at Burlington Athletic Stadium.
N.C. Wesleyan (17-18) will face No. 5 seed Christopher Newport University on Friday at 1:30 p.m. The game is an elimination game for the Bishops. Ferrum (19-12) will return to action on Saturday, with its opponent to be determined.
Ferrum jumped on the regular season champions early, scoring four runs in the second inning. Sammy Holloway gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead with an RBI single through the right side. Jason Butterworth's RBI groundout added another run to the scoreboard, and Paul Jaglowski immediately followed with a two-run homer down the left field line.
The Panthers, who lost to Christopher Newport 10-8 earlier in the day, increased their lead to 5-0 when Buttersworth singles in another run.
Ferrum left-hander Jon Wilson kept N.C. Wesleyan's offense quiet until the sixth inning. Patrick Laffin, who was 4-for-4, slammed a solo home run over the fence in center field to give the Battling Bishops their first run of the game.
N.C. Wesleyan added another run in the seventh inning on Zach Alexander's RBI double down the left field line. That marked the end of the night for Wilson, although the senior picked up his second win this season on the mound.
Ferrum's Justin Franklin got that run right back in the of the eighth inning with a solo homer to right field that pushed the Panthers' lead to 6-2.
Panthers right-hander Michael Baskeyfield pitched the final 2.1 innings to earn his second save of the year.
