DAYTON, Tenn.— The Montreat baseball team continued its Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opening weekend on Saturday against the (RV) Bryan College Lions in Dayton, Tenn. Thanks to a stellar pitching performance in game one, the Cavaliers split the doubleheader with the Lions to move to 9-7 (1-2 AAC) this season.
Daniel Willie was the star of the show in game one. The Ooltewah, Tenn. native had his stuff working from the opening pitch, retiring the first 12 hitters he faced. Of those 12 hitters, seven were sent packing via strikeout, including all three batters in the third inning. Bryan got its first baserunner with a leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth, but Willie quickly retired the next three Lions to keep the hosts scoreless.
The Cavaliers picked up a few baserunners along the way during game one, but it wasn't until the latter innings that the offense was able to cash in. Scoreless in the top half of the seventh inning,
Daniel Wetmore earned a leadoff walk. After a flyout,
OJ Borroto crushed his first home run of the season to put the Cavs on top, 2-0. Then, in the eighth inning,
Tarik Latchmansingh singled home
Chase Bruno. Wetmore followed that up with a two-run blast to push the Cavalier lead out to 5-0.
Willie didn't need five runs of support to help Montreat beat Bryan in the opening game of the twin bill. The upperclassman recorded a career-high 16 strikeouts in game one, the most by a Cavalier in over 18 years. The 16 strikeouts also happened to be the most recorded by a Cavalier pitching staff in single game since March 30, 2018, when the Cavs struck out 17 Tennessee Wesleyan hitters.
The lone blemish on Willie's day was a ninth-inning solo shot. Willie completed the game, pitching all nine innings while allowing just four hits. Bruno was the only Cavalier batter to record multiple hits in the 5-1 victory, batting 2-4 with two doubles and a run scored.
While pitching told the story in game one, offense became the story in game two. An RBI single off the bat of Latchmansingh put the Cavaliers ahead in the first inning, but the Lions responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame.
Montreat put a three-spot on the board in the third, with Latchmansingh registering his second RBI of game two on a fielder's choice.
Michael Bell followed with a two-RBI single to put the Cavaliers ahead, 4-2; however, as was regularly the case in game two, the hosts weren't far behind.
Bryan (6-8, 2-1 AAC) tallied two run-producing base knocks to level the contest at four through three innings. A passed ball gave Montreat its fifth run of the game in the fourth, but the Lions pushed three runs of their own across seemingly minutes later.
Borroto delivered his second two-run shot of the day in the fifth to even the score at seven.
Norman Kelly then made it back-to-back blasts to move Montreat ahead by a run. But, in the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Lions answered and leveled the game at eight runs apiece.
The sixth inning proved to be the decisive one. A Wetmore sacrifice fly gave the Cavaliers their fifth and final advantage of game two, because in the bottom half of the frame, the hosts exploded for seven runs. Leading 15-9, the Lions put the game out of reach and salvaged a doubleheader split on their home diamond.
Five Cavaliers racked up at least two hits in game two, with Kelly the only to record three (3-4). Of the 13 Cavs to bat, nine registered a base knock.
Caden Wright was the only Montreat pitcher to not allow a run as he recorded the final two outs in the sixth inning.
The Montreat baseball team continues AAC play with a three-game home series against Bluefield University. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Montreat, N.C.
