GREENVILLE, S.C.— The Montreat baseball team finished out its 2024 non-conference slate Tuesday night when it visited Greenville, S.C. for the latter half of a home-and-home with the Bob Jones University Bruins. After defeating BJU back on March 11, the Cavaliers picked up right where they left off, this time with an 11-1 7-inning triumph at Conestee Park. Thanks to the win, the Cavs' record improved to 24-19-1 overall.
Montreat batted 6-for-7 leading off innings Tuesday night, setting itself up for great success on the road. In the top of the third,
Elijah Stifter's leadoff single set the table for a trio of runs.
Zeb Marquis plated the first two Cavaliers via his base hit to left, and
Michael Bell expanded the advantage to 3-0 just one batter later on a single to center.
Following a few scoreless frames, the visitors blew the matchup wide open with a 6-run sixth.
Jaider Morelos notched a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-0, while a pair of pinch hitters drove in the rest.
Hunter Furches smacked an RBI single through the left side, and
Richard Matos Delacruz swatted a grand slam over the fence in center, which extended the Cavs' edge up to 9-0 through six.
Elijah Baptist and
Andres Balart each recorded an RBI in the top of the seventh, increasing the Montreat lead to 11-0. Bob Jones (6-23) scratched across its lone run of the evening during the ensuing half inning, but the damage was already done. The Cavaliers collected their fourth consecutive victory thanks to an 11-1 run-rule shortened triumph in their non-conference finale.
Four Montreat pitchers combined to fill the seven innings on the mound.
Ryan Henrickson,
Hunter Rast and
Dalton Strickland tossed two frames apiece, while
Nick Kantzavelos hurled one. A native of Anchorage, Alaska, Henrickson started the contest with two shutout innings, and both Kantzavelos and Rast threw up zeroes in their relief outings.
Offensively, the Cavs scored 11 runs on 18 hits. Eleven different Montreat batters accrued a base knock in the victory, 10 scored at least one run and seven tallied an RBI. Delacruz (4 RBIs) and Marquis (2 RBIs) drove in multiple runs, and
Tommy Ramos scored twice.
"Tonight was definitely a good win as everybody contributed in some way," said head coach
Jason Beck. "The pitching and defense were solid, and we had timely hitting. I'm proud of the way the team is coming together and am looking forward to a huge weekend against Milligan."
The Montreat baseball team plays Milligan University on Friday as it opens its final home series in 2024. First pitch of the 3-game set is currently scheduled for 3 p.m. at Newell Field in Montreat, N.C.
