BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat baseball team hosted the No. 3-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) doubleheader Friday afternoon as the two sides closed out their 3-game series at Newell Field. After the Cavaliers' upset victory over the Bulldogs yesterday, TWU came back with a vengeance and swept the doubleheader by a pair of 18-1 and 6-0 7-inning final scores. With the defeats, the Cavs' 8-game win streak came to an end and their record fell to 26-20 (14-12 AAC) on the year.
Both teams had an opportunity to score in the first frame of game one as Tennessee Wesleyan opened the doubleheader with a pair of singles, and
Zeb Marquis singled before immediately stealing second base; however, neither side could muster a hit with a runner in scoring position, and the game remained scoreless after one.
Tennessee Wesleyan (37-7, 26-1 AAC) plated the day's initial runs in the top of the third with a solo shot and a 2-run jack. Already with a 3-0 lead, Bulldog pitching kept the Cavalier offense quiet through the middle stages of the contest, which allowed the visitors to blow the game open in the fifth and sixth innings.
A 5-run fifth and a 10-run sixth ballooned the visitors' edge out to 18-0 entering the bottom of the sixth.
Will Cheek launched the first homer of his Cavalier career in the bottom of the sixth to put Montreat on the board, but the deficit was too large to overcome as the hosts dropped a run-rule shortened contest in seven innings, 18-1.
Hunter Smith tossed a shutout seventh frame on the mound, while four different Cavs tallied a hit in the game.
Starting pitching dominated the opening stages of game two and both pitchers combined to surrender just a single hit through three frames. For
Daniel Willie, that meant a trio of strikeouts and no runs allowed entering the fourth.
TWU opened the scoring in the top of the fourth with a 2-out RBI single to left, staking the Bulldogs out to a 1-0 lead in the process.
Norman Kelly notched what ultimately became Montreat's lone hit of game two in the bottom of the frame, but he was swiftly erased on a double play.
The Bulldogs took over the contest as the game went alone, scoring in each of the final four innings thanks to a mix of home runs and Cavalier errors. With a 6-0 lead entering the bottom of the seventh, Tennessee Wesleyan sent the Cavs down in order to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Kelly registered Montreat's only hit in the latter contest of the doubleheader, while
AJ Barrios (walk) and
Caleb Abshier (error) were the only other Cavs to reach base.
The Montreat baseball team wraps up the 2023 regular season next Thursday and Friday with a 3-game home series against the Union College Bulldogs. First pitch on Thursday is slated for 3:00 p.m. at Newell Field in Montreat, N.C.
