Fayetteville, N.C. -- The Pfeiffer baseball team took a tough loss to Methodist by a score of 7-5 on Friday night. The Monarchs came in to this series as the number eight ranked team in the country in Division III baseball.

The scoring started with Methodist jumping out to a 3-0 lead off of Falcons starter Nick Richmond, who went 5.2 innings on the mound. Alex Kachler drove in the first Monarchs run with a RBI double to left-center field to make it 1-0. A Tucker Criswell RBI single and Matthias Carter RBI single later in the frame gave Methodist the early 3-0 advantage.

In the top half of the third, Jordan Eckard went yard for his sixth homerun of the year. The Monarchs would score the next four however, and Pfeiffer would find themselves in a 7-1 hole going in to the seventh inning.

The Falcons would score four runs over the final three innings, but couldn't overcome the early deficit. Damon Smith drove home two with a two-RBI single in the seventh, while Kyler Fairchild and Mason Striplin came through with RBI singles of their own.

Jordan Eckard came through with a three hit game including his homerun in the third inning. Smith and Fairchild also had two hits of their own on the night.

The Methodist offense was powered by leadoff man Matthias Carter, who came through with two hits and three RBI's. Clay Richardson collected two hits, while first baseman Jacob Austin pounded out two hits and scored twice.

Pfeiffer will try to even the series on Saturday as they face off against the Monarchs. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.