MARION, N.C.— The Montreat baseball team opened its Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series with the Union Commonwealth University Bulldogs at Big League Camp Friday afternoon. A high-scoring affair concluded with the Cavs taking a 9-7 final, moving the Cavaliers' record to 21-19-1 overall and 11-10 in conference play for 2024.
 
Ben Cornelius allowed a base hit in the first and then retired seven in a row as the matchup entered the bottom of the third still scoreless. Though the Cavaliers got their leadoff batter on base in each of the initial three innings, it wasn't until the third that the home side broke through thanks to Jaider Morelos' fourth home run of the year, a 2-run shot to center, that put the Cavs up 2-0. Isaac Castro then added a solo jack to make it 3-0 through three frames.
 
Union (17-19, 10-12 AAC) answered with four runs in the ensuing half inning, establishing a 4-3 edge; however, Montreat responded with four of its own to jump back ahead by three. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Elijah Stifter blooped a 2-RBI double down the right field line to flip the score in the Cavaliers' favor before a double steal coupled with an RBI hit from Caleb Abshier brought the score to 7-4.
 
Despite a pair of runs from the visitors in the fifth, Cornelius sat down the final seven batters he faced to keep the Cavs up 7-6 into the seventh. The Lake Zurich, Ill. native concluded his afternoon with three strikeouts and improved to 2-2 on the season with the win on the mound.
 
"Getting seven innings out of [Ben Cornelius] was huge," noted head coach Jason Beck. "We were thin in the bullpen so we knew he had to give us at least five or six innings. He struggled a little bit, but got out of some big spots, started strong and finished strong when we really needed it. I was proud of him- that was probably his best outing this year."
 
An important insurance run crossed in the bottom of the seventh as an RBI groundout by Hunter Furches helped Montreat to an 8-6 lead, and, after one from the Bulldogs in the top of the eighth, an RBI knock from Castro restored the 2-run advantage going into the ninth.
 
Ryan Keeley pitched an inning in relief, allowing one hit, while Dalton Strickland tallied his second save of the 2024 campaign thanks to a 1-hit ninth. Both Keeley and Strickland struck out one batter.
 
Offensively, each team amassed 13 hits. Five different Cavaliers finished with at least two hits led by a 3-for-5 performance at the dish by Castro. Stifter (2-3), Morelos (2-5), Abshier (2-5) and Jeff Cardazzone (2-4) joined Castro with multiple base knocks. Stifter, Morelos and Castro all notched two RBIs and Morelos scored three times.
 
"We told the guys 'this is a team game and we need everyone to step up,'" added Beck. "We were playing extremely shorthanded today and didn't have many players on the bench so we challenged guys to step up. I thought everyone was productive and everyone contributed, which is so important for game one of a series."
 
Baseball finishes its AAC series with a doubleheader against the Bulldogs tomorrow at Newell Field in Montreat, N.C. First pitch of game one of the twin bill is set for 12 p.m.