MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat baseball team finished up a 4-game series against the Fisher College Falcons Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader at Newell Field in Montreat, N.C. Behind two strong starts on the mound, the Cavaliers won a pair of 10-3 and 3-2 ballgames to sweep the series and improve to 24-18 on the season.
Fisher (19-17) made the most of its lone hit off
Daniel Willie during the first four frames as the visitors drilled a solo shot to center in the top of the second. Meanwhile, Falcon pitching stranded a pair of Montreat baserunners in both the first and second innings to maintain a 1-0 edge through two.
The Cavaliers broke through offensively in the bottom of the third with a 5-run inning. Six straight Cavs reached safely in the frame, and the hosts utilized four extra-base hits to seize a 5-1 lead.
Caleb Abshier leveled the score with a solo blast, and
Isaac Castro put Montreat in front with a 2-run homer to center field.
Zeb Marquis then capped off the scoring a few batters later with his 2-RBI double to left center.
Daniel Willie settled in splendidly on the mound after he surrendered a solo shot in the second. The Ooltewah, Tenn. native retired 18 of the final 21 batters he faced as he tossed his third complete game of the season. Willie gave up three solo home runs across seven frames of work, racking up 12 strikeouts and grabbing his fifth win of the year in the process.
Castro plated
Norman Kelly in the fourth to tally his third RBI of the opener and push the Cavalier lead out to 6-1. A 4-run fifth inning then ballooned the hosts' edge up to nine runs (10-1) as Marquis lined a 2-run homer to center and Kelly roped a 2-run double down the left field line.
The Falcons scored two runs in the top of the seventh on a pair of solo shots, but Willie slammed the door shut from there to finish off a 10-3 Cav triumph in game one.
Montreat outhit the visitors in the first half of Saturday's doubleheader, notching 15 hits to Fisher's four. Five Cavaliers recorded multiple hits in the victory, led by Kelly's 4-for-4 performance.
Kelly continued his spectacular afternoon with a 2-out, 2-run rocket to center in the bottom of the first. The Decatur, Ga. native's sixth home run of the season handed the hosts a 2-0 lead to start game two.
Fisher evened the score at two with a pair of 2-out run-producing hits in the top of the third. Meanwhile, Falcon pitching sent down 10 of the next 12 Cav batters following Kelly's blast to keep the ballgame tied entering the fifth.
Ben Cornelius sent the Falcons down in order in the top of the fifth, and the Cavalier offense reclaimed the lead during the following half-inning.
Necumba Booker Jr. singled to open the bottom half of the frame with Montreat's first hit since the initial inning. A few batters later,
Stephen Karis delivered a clutch RBI base hit to move the hosts ahead, 3-2.
Cornelius only got stronger as the contest entered its final frames. The Union College (Ky.) transfer threw his best game as a Cavalier, retiring the final 13 batters he faced and striking out the side to halt Fisher's comeback hopes. Cornelius registered his first complete game in a Montreat uniform with his 7-inning gem, and he punched out a season-high 13 batters.
Offensively, five different Cavs collected a hit, and Booker Jr. reached base safely in all three of his plate appearances.
The Montreat baseball team continues its homestand on Tuesday with a 9-inning non-conference contest versus Carolina University. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Newell Field.
