KINGSPORT, Tenn.— The No. 9 seeded Montreat baseball team fell to the top team in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament Wednesday night in Kingsport, dropping a contest to the No. 2-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs by a score of 20-10. After the result, the Cavaliers now sit at 32-25 on the season.
 
Montreat used consistency and timely hits to jump out to an advantage over the No. 1-seeded Bulldogs. After TWU notched a run in the initial frame, the Cavaliers responded by scoring in five consecutive innings.
 
In the bottom of the second, Chase Bruno set the table for a sacrifice fly by OJ Borroto with his one-out triple to right center as the Cavs tied the contest at one. Two hits and a walk loaded the bases for Montreat in the next frame, and the underdogs made TWU pay with a sacrifice fly by Rafael Padilla, giving the Cavaliers a 2-1 lead.
 
Following a game-tying sacrifice fly by Tennessee Wesleyan, Montreat retook its edge thanks to a two-out RBI single up the middle by Jeff Cardazzone that drove in Bruno from third in the fourth. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, the Cavaliers added another two runs to their lead. A trio of Cavs reached with two outs, setting the table for Borroto, who came up clutch with a two-RBI hit to left center that put Montreat up 5-2 through five.
 
Though Kadien Dean, who got the start for the Cavs by going five frames on the mound, and the pitching staff kept the Bulldogs at bay for five innings, the favored TWU squad showed its offensive prowess in the sixth by scoring nine runs on seven hits and an error to take an 11-5 advantage in the competition. Livan Reinoso, who now leads the NAIA with 27 home runs and ended the game 4-for-5 with six RBIs, highlighted the inning with a pair of homers.
 
In response to the Bulldogs' big frame, the Cavaliers notched three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit in half. With two on and two gone, Tarik Latchmansingh doubled to left center, scoring Daniel Wetmore and Ryan Pereda. Bruno followed the hit with his second opposite-field triple of the game to plate Latchmansingh and bring his team within three.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan (48-5) answered once more, blowing the matchup open with seven runs on seven hits in the top of the eighth to hold a double-digit edge (18-8). The Cavaliers, who needed a run to extend the competition, got their wish as a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by Bruno scratched across a pair to pull Montreat within eight (18-10). Despite scoring the most runs versus TWU since the Cavs tallied 11 against the Bulldogs on March 26, 2006, two additional final-frame scores saw the top seed double the Cavaliers up, 20-10.
 
Seven Cavaliers combined to record 11 hits against the No. 2 team in the country, while three registered multiple base knocks in the contest. Cardazzone (3-5) led the offense with a trio of hits to go with an RBI. Bruno (2-2) and Latchmansingh (2-4) each added two hits and two RBIs to round out the Cavs with more than one hit on the night. Borroto captained the squad with three RBIs, and Wetmore scored a team-high three times.
 
Baseball looks to continue its season when the team faces No. 4 seed St. Andrews, who the Cavs swept earlier this year, at Hunter Wright Stadium at 12:00 p.m. tomorrow.