MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.— The Montreat baseball team concluded its season-opening trip to Florida on Saturday with its fourth consecutive game versus the St. Thomas University Bobcats, a team receiving votes in the NAIA Baseball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll. In an offensive slugfest that featured 18 combined runs through just five innings, the Cavaliers scored early and often to secure a 19-11 final and their first win of the 2024 season.
A pair of solo shots handed the Cavs their first lead of the series as the visitors scored twice before STU came to the plate.
Zeb Marquis started the contest with a leadoff blast to left field, and
Tommy Ramos hammered his second home run of the weekend just two batters later for the 2-0 lead.
St. Thomas (3-1) evened the score with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the third as it lined a 2-run homer over the left field fence; however, Montreat had no trouble answering the following half-inning.
Michael Bell began the 4-run fourth by clobbering a no-doubt 2-run rocket of his own to restore the Cavalier lead.
Elijah Baptist doubled down the right field line before coming around on a throwing error, and Marquis closed out the frame's scoring when he drilled his second solo shot of the day, putting the visitors up 6-2 in the process.
Not to be outdone, the Bobcats plated four runs and once again tied the game in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an RBI groundout and a 2-out, 3-run homer.
The runs kept on coming for both sides as each team put up a crooked number in the fifth inning.
Jeff Cardazzone retook the lead with a 2-out, 2-RBI single in the top half of the frame, but a 4-spot in the bottom half of the inning saw STU claim its first lead of the afternoon at 10-8.
Matthew Rangel and
Joe Tomasello cooled off the Bobcat bats for a few innings with each pitcher hurling a scoreless relief frame. Those zeroes proved crucial in allowing the Cavs to flip the matchup in their favor when the eighth arrived. Ramos pulled Montreat within a run on his RBI double, and
Caleb Abshier knotted the contest at 10 with a run-scoring single. Later, with the bases loaded, Cardazzone drew a walk, and Baptist singled home two more Cavaliers to push the visitors in front, 13-10.
Following a perfect 1-2-3 eighth inning from Tomasello, Montreat pushed across additional insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Marquis' third blast of the day opened the final inning, and Cardazzone's 2-run moonshot closed out a 6-run ninth. Ultimately, the Cavs plated 11 runs during their final two frames at the dish to capture the series finale and improve to 1-3 on the year.
Marquis (3-5) and Cardazzone (3-4) each notched a trio of hits in the win, and Marquis registered half of the Cavaliers' six home runs. Cardazzone led the squad with five RBIs, while Marquis (3), Bell (3) Baptist (2) and Ramos (2) each totaled multiple runs batted in. Tomasello earned the win on the mound as he allowed just a single run across the final three innings of the ballgame.
The Montreat baseball team begins its 2024 home slate on Friday with a doubleheader against the West Virginia University Institute of Technology Golden Bears. First pitch of game one is slated for 12 p.m. in North Carolina.
