MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat baseball team finished off a massive Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series sweep of the St. Andrews University Knights on Sunday afternoon, utilizing an offensive outburst to take game one, 11-3, before capitalizing on a stellar pitching performance to win game two, 1-0. With the wins, the Cavaliers improved to 25-20 (10-14 AAC) on the season.
St. Andrews (28-12, 13-8 AAC) got on the board first in game one in the top of the initial frame, but the advantage was short-lived.
Tarik Latchmansingh, who leads the Cavaliers with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs on the year, hit his first of two three-run blasts to catapult the Cavaliers in front, 3-1.
The third inning followed a near-identical script to the first. St. Andrews tallied a run in the top of the frame, but Latchmansingh responded in the bottom half of the inning with another three-run bomb to center, putting Montreat on top by four through three (6-2).
Daniel Willie settled into a groove on the mound, holding the Knights scoreless in four of his seven innings pitched. Willie never surrendered more than one run in any given inning, and his six strikeouts put him in prime position for his seventh win of the season.
Montreat tacked on an insurance run in the fifth and sixth innings thanks to a
Norman Kelly solo shot and a
Jeff Cardazzone double that scored
Ryan Pereda. The Knights got one back on a balk in the seventh to trim the Cavaliers' lead to 8-3, but Montreat put any doubts to rest with three more scores in the eighth.
Cardazzone scored Pereda again, this time on a triple to left center, while
Will Cheek crossed home plate on a wild pitch.
Rafael Padilla then wrapped up the scoring in game one with a single to right field that plated Kelly.
Adam Bingham slammed the door shut on the Knights with two scoreless innings of relief. The Trinity, Fla. native struck out two St. Andrews batters in two near-perfect frames, closing out an 11-3 Montreat victory.
Four Cavaliers registered multi-hit performances in game one, with Padilla's 3-for-3 effort leading the way.
Daniel Wetmore (2-5), Latchmansingh (2-3) and Cardazzone (2-4) each had two hits in the victory.
While the Montreat offense stole the headlines in game one, the Cavaliers' pitching took center stage in game two.
Jared Drayton worked out of a first-inning jam and was lights out from that point on, allowing just five hits across seven scoreless frames while striking out six Knights. The Pittsburg, Calif. native kept the St. Andrews offense quiet all afternoon, never allowing a runner to advance beyond second base after the first inning.
Meanwhile, Latchmansingh provided all the run production needed in game two. With two on and one out in the bottom of the first, the Montreat slugger lined a single into right center, scoring Padilla and putting the Cavaliers on top, 1-0.
Latchmansingh's seventh RBI of the afternoon proved to be the winner as neither offense could push another run across in game two. Drayton earned his fourth win of the season as the Cavaliers completed their doubleheader and three-game sweep of St. Andrews, 1-0.
Six Cavaliers recorded a hit in game two, with
Chase Bruno, Latchmansingh, Pereda and Cardazzone all going 1-for-2 at the dish.
The Montreat baseball team hosts Emory & Henry College on Wednesday in a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
