MARION, N.C.— The Montreat baseball team continued conference play as the Cavaliers hosted the Bluefield University Rams for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) doubleheader at Big League Camp in Marion, N.C. Thursday afternoon. Though the Cavs fought well in each of the two competitions, the Rams tallied a 19-7 triumph in eight innings before taking a close 2-1 ballgame to drop Montreat's record to 10-13 (6-5 AAC) on the season.
In the back-and-forth battle that was the first contest, Bluefield (10-7, 5-3 AAC) grabbed a 4-0 advantage in the opening half inning thanks to a pair of home runs, but the Cavaliers responded. In the bottom of the first,
Mitch Ball launched a pitch over the fence to cut the deficit in half. After a scoreless frame, Montreat then scored a single run in the third, fourth and fifth innings to capture a 5-4 lead.
Unfortunately for the Cavs, errors hurt their chances of holding the edge. The home side, who committed five miscues in the game, surrendered 15 runs over a three-inning span that saw the Rams score 13 unearned to go up 19-6.
Richard Matos Delacruz hit a solo shot in the seventh and
Will Gamble had a sacrifice fly in the eighth, but it wasn't enough to offset the visitors' offensive output in the run-rule shortened competition.
Jeff Cardazzone (2-4),
Zeb Marquis (2-3) and Ball (2-3) each ended the first matchup with multiple of the Cavs' 10 hits. Sean Seale went 4-for-5 with nine RBIs at the plate for the Rams.
Unlike the initial game, it was the Cavaliers who struck first in the latter contest, using a solo homer from
Isaac Castro to lead 1-0 in the bottom of the second. Despite the early edge from the home team, Bluefield immediately answered with a solo shot of its own in the top of the third to level the score at one run apiece.
Daniel Willie threw a complete game on the mound for the Cavs as the Ooltewah, Tenn. native hurled seven frames, allowing just eight hits and a pair of runs while striking out seven batters; however, the Rams notched their second solo jack of the competition in the fifth to secure a one-run advantage.
Montreat's offense struggled to find success against BU pitching, registering only three hits and five total baserunners over the seven-inning affair, which resulted in the 2-1 defeat.
With tomorrow's series finale canceled, Montreat baseball looks forward to its non-conference single game versus Bob Jones on Monday. First pitch at Newell Field is slated for 3 p.m.
