COLUMBIA, S.C.— Continuing its 9-game road trip, the Montreat baseball team journeyed to South Carolina's capital city Friday evening for the start of an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series between the Cavaliers and the Columbia International University Rams. While the Cavs attempted to rally with a 4-spot in the seventh, the comeback attempt fell short as CIU won the matchup, 8-4, and dropped Montreat to 19-17-1 (9-9 AAC) on the year.
Columbia International (13-24, 7-12 AAC) capitalized on an error and a trio of infield singles as it jumped in front of the visitors with a 4-run first inning. The Rams later extended their advantage to 6-0 thanks to an insurance run in both the fifth and sixth frames.
Montreat had at least one baserunner in each of the first six innings, including multiple runners during the latter three frames. Despite the traffic on the basepaths, the Cavs couldn't push anything across until they finally broke through offensively with four runs in the top of the seventh.
Mitch Ball got the Cavaliers on the scoreboard with a 2-run blast to left field. Three batters later,
Caleb Abshier doubled home
Tommy Ramos on a line drive to center. A
Zeb Marquis single coupled with a throwing error plated Abshier during the following at-bat, trimming the deficit to 6-4; however, a 2-out, 2-RBI single to right during the ensuing half-inning restored a little bit of breathing room for CIU, who led 8-4 after seven.
As it did in each of the initial seven frames, Montreat managed to place at least one runner on base in its final two trips to the plate. Columbia International's pitching worked its way out of trouble in both instances, though, and it ultimately stranded 10 Cavs over the course of nine innings. As a result, the Rams captured the opener, 8-4.
Marquis (3-4) led the visitors with a trio of hits, while Abshier (2-4) and
Manny Moore (2-4) also tallied multiple knocks. Four different Cavaliers scored in the defeat, and Ball (1-3) drove in two runs and drew two walks. On the mound,
Tyler Best and
Ryan Keeley each tossed a scoreless relief inning with a pair of strikeouts.
The Montreat baseball team resumes its 3-game series against CIU tomorrow afternoon. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Columbia, S.C.
