MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat baseball team took on the Reinhardt University Eagles in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) doubleheader at Newell Field Friday afternoon. A thrilling comeback with a plethora of offense highlighted by several home runs meant a 9-8 triumph in game one, while the Cavs dropped the latter matchup by a 6-2 scoreline. With the results, the Cavaliers moved to 18-17 overall and 11-9 in AAC action.
Two-out hitting powered Reinhardt early as the Eagles plated a series of runs over three frames to lead by five. RU (22-10, 12-4 AAC) built a 5-0 advantage thanks to a 4-for-7 showing with two down, including a pair of longballs, through the top of the third.
Following the quick start by the visitors, Montreat responded with home runs of its own to get back into the ballgame.
Zeb Marquis launched a solo shot, his first home run of the season, to get the Cavs on the board in the bottom of the third. An RBI single by
Caleb Abshier trimmed the deficit to three heading into the fourth.
After Reinhardt notched its third homer to extend its advantage to four (6-2) entering the latter half of the fifth, the Cavaliers answered again. With two on,
Tarik Latchmansingh brought the home side within a run due to his team-leading seventh home run of the season.
Norman Kelly then tied the contest at six as the Cavs sent back-to-back balls over the fence and Kelly registered his fourth homer of the year.
Though the Eagles crossed two on an error in the sixth to go up 8-6, Montreat used back-to-back bombs to turn the tide in the game. Three consecutive extra-base hits to start the bottom of the seventh gave the Cavaliers their first advantage of the afternoon. Latchmansingh doubled before Kelly knotted the competition at eight with his second longball of the day and
Daniel Wetmore handed the Cavs the lead with a solo shot immediately following Kelly's at-bat.
With the edge established, the Cavaliers needed six outs to seal the victory. After a relatively quiet eighth, the play of the game was made by Montreat's defense. It looked as if Reinhardt tied the matchup with a ball to center; however, Marquis scaled the fence in center and robbed a home run to keep the Cavs ahead in the ninth.
Joe Tomasello finished off his perfect inning to record his first save of the year and give the home side its triumph.
Harold Aguilera and
Nate Kiser also pitched scoreless innings in the win.
The Cavaliers outhit the Eagles 11-8 thanks to their 5-homer contest. Four Cavs notched multiple hits as
Jaider Morelos (2-5), Latchmansingh (2-5), Kelly (2-4) and Wetmore (2-4) each secured a pair of base knocks.
Game two featured much less offense.
Tyler Best got into jams but stranded seven baserunners through his first three innings of action. Meanwhile, Montreat struggled at the plate, registering only two hits over the first five frames.
Two solo shots and a wild pitch awarded RU a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. In the home-half of the inning, the Cavaliers doubled their hit total, using a 2-run bomb by Abshier to pull within a run in the 7-inning contest. Despite the momentum, Reinhardt answered and tallied three insurance runs in the seventh to expand its advantage out to four (6-2) with one half inning remaining.
Montreat failed to muster any offense in its final at-bat as the Eagles outhit the Cavs 11-4 and the squads split the doubleheader.
"Today, we faced one of the better teams in the conference. We played well but still need to play consistently to string games together," noted head coach
Jason Beck. "Our bullpen did a great job keeping us in the game and gave us the chance to win. We still have a chance to win the series tomorrow and we have to feel good about that," Beck ended.
Baseball now faces Reinhardt in the series finale tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. at Newell Field. Time and location are subject to change due to impending inclement weather. Be sure to check
www.montreatcavaliers.com for schedule information.
