PIKEVILLE, Ky.— The Montreat baseball team finished up its Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series with a doubleheader against the University of Pikeville Bears Saturday afternoon. Thanks to a 10-8 comeback win in the first game and a tight 9-8 decision in game two in Kentucky, the Cavs moved to 19-16-1 (9-8 AAC) on the year.
The Cavaliers scored both early and late to take a back-and-forth opening competition.
Tommy Ramos hit a solo home run as the visitors notched the initial run of the game in the first half-inning; however, Pikeville (22-11, 14-6 AAC) responded with four to lead 4-1 through one frame.
Extra-base hits then powered the Cav offense as Montreat tallied a trio of runs in each of the second and fourth innings.
Elijah Stifter doubled in a run before
Mitch Ball blasted a 2-run jack to knot the score at four in the second.
Richard Matos Delacruz went yard to hand the Cavaliers a 5-4 advantage in the fourth prior to an error and an RBI single that brought the score to 7-4.
The Bears responded with three RBI singles, crossing four runs, two in the fifth and two in the sixth, to re-establish their lead at 8-7, but the visitors rallied once more. With two gone in the top of the ninth,
Jaider Morelos tied the game at eight with his single to right and back-to-back 2-out doubles from Ramos and
Jonathan Gonzalez built the team's lead out to 10-8.
Joe Tomasello grabbed the win for the Cavaliers by pitching a hitless 2 2/3 frames to close out the matchup. Tomasello, who improved to 2-0, struck out two. Offensively, Ramos (3-5), Gonzalez (2-5) and Stifter (2-3) all ended the first game with multiple hits, while Ramos (3) and Ball (2) each drove in more than one. Stifter and
Connor Goff both scored twice in the victory.
In the rubber match, neither team broke the deadlock until the third inning. Ramos delivered with a 2-RBI double in the top of the third, but UPIKE immediately answered. Capitalizing on a lack of control on the mound, the home side recorded eight runs on just two hits. Despite the 6-run deficit entering the fourth, the Cavaliers followed their counterpart's lead with three bases-loaded walks and a fielder's choice that cut the gap to only two (8-6) midway through the contest.
After the Bears crossed a key insurance run in the bottom of the fifth,
Caleb Abshier delivered with a pinch-hit 2-RBI hit to pull the Cavs within a run with an inning to play, but UPIKE shut the door in the final inning.
Stifter (2-4) was the lone Cavalier to register multiple hits in game two, while Ramos (3) and Abshier (2) both drove in at least two RBIs. Ball and Morelos scored twice. On the mound,
Dalton Strickland pitched two frames, surrendering just one run, and
Hunter Rast concluded the matchup with a perfect last inning.
Baseball now heads to South Carolina for a conference series at Columbia International University beginning on Friday. First pitch of the opening contest is scheduled for 6 p.m.
