MOCKSVILLE, N.C.— The Montreat baseball team squeezed in a trip to Mocksville, N.C. on Tuesday afternoon, taking on the Carolina University Bruins in a non-conference doubleheader. Montreat scored plenty of runs in game one, defeating the hosts 16-1 before dropping a lower-scoring battle in game two, 4-3. The twinbill split moved the Cavaliers' record to 15-11 on the season.
Montreat secured a victory in game one thanks to two large innings at the plate. The Cavaliers started game one by sending 11 men to the dish, the first six of whom reached base safely and scored.
Will Cheek and
Chase Bruno started the contest with a single and a walk, respectively. A wild pitch ensured that Cheek and Bruno could advance into scoring position, and
Tarik Latchmansingh, who entered the day with a team-leading 26 RBIs on the season, came through with a two-run single to open the scoring. Thanks to a combination of errors and a
Daniel Wetmore single, the Cavaliers were able to push four more runs across in the inning and enter the bottom half of the initial frame with a 6-0 edge.
Carolina (10-10) couldn't get much going at the plate with
Harold Aguilera on the mound for the Cavaliers. The right-hander from Miami, Fla. delivered six strong innings, allowing just a single run on a solo shot in the fourth. Aguilera gave up six hits and a walk during his outing while striking out five Bruins.
After
Ashton Hawkins' leadoff triple in the fifth, Montreat managed to get the run back on a Wetmore RBI single and return its lead to six (7-1).
The Cavaliers blew the game open and put it out of reach in the seventh frame. Montreat sent 15 men to bat in the top of the seventh, and the first 10 all reached base safely.
Hawkins led off the inning with a walk and was immediately driven in on a pinch-hit two-run blast off the bat of
OJ Borroto. A few batters later,
Rey Gonce served up a pinch-hit RBI double that put the Cavs ahead 10-1.
Norman Kelly also added to the Montreat tallies by pinch hitters in the seventh by clobbering a three-run homer.
Blake Cousens, who pitched the final inning in the 16-1 win, threw a perfect seventh frame while striking out two batters to help slam the door and finish off game one.
Eleven different Cavaliers registered a hit in game one. Wetmore (5-5, 3 RBIs), Cheek (3-5, 2 RBIs) and Hawkins (2-3, 3 R) all tallied multiple hits in the effort, while Montreat pinch hitters batted 4-4 with two home runs, six RBIs, four runs scored and two walks.
While game one was decidedly in Montreat's favor, Carolina had the upper hand in game two. A leadoff single coupled with a passed ball allowed two Bruin groundouts to score the opening run of the contest. Then, in the bottom of the third inning, a two-run shot to left field pushed the Carolina lead up to 3-0.
Borroto's solo rocket to center in the fourth helped shrink the deficit momentarily, but a solo home run in the bottom half of the frame aided the Bruins in re-establishing their three-run advantage (4-1).
Montreat's final push to overcome its three-run hole came in the seventh. Hawkins doubled to lead off the inning, and Borroto's single gave the Cavaliers runners on the corners. Kelly delivered an RBI infield single to shave one run off the deficit, and a Gonce RBI groundout moved the Cavs to within a single run (4-3); however, a good throw from the catcher nailed a would-be base stealer at third, ending Montreat's rally. The Cavaliers pushed the Bruins late, but Carolina held on to earn the twinbill split.
Borroto (2-3, HR) was the only Cavalier to tally multiple base knocks in game two, while five other Cavs recorded a hit. On the mound,
Rawley Stinson and
Hayden Franklin each fired a scoreless inning in relief.
The Montreat baseball team hosts a three-game series against Milligan University for its next action on the diamond. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 3:00 p.m., with the doubleheader set for Saturday.
