CLEVELAND, Ga.— Montreat's baseball team traveled to Truett McConnell University for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series against the Bears. The Cavaliers played one game on Friday and will play a doubleheader on Saturday. In the first game, the Cavaliers beat the Bears 5-2. With the win, Montreat's record improves to 5-9 (2-2 AAC).
 
On the mound to start the contest, Merritt Evans dealt for six full innings. He surrendered six hits and the only two Bear (2-9, 0-3 AAC) runs, along with two walks and an error while striking out one batter.
 
The Cavalier offense swung for two singles in the top of the first. The opening hit came from Justin Austin while the second came from Tommy Ramos. With the bases loaded and two outs, the Montreat offense could not capitalize on a run. The Cavaliers didn't find their next hit until the ninth inning when they registered five of them.
 
In the sixth inning, the Bears took the lead, scoring two runs. However, that didn't scare the Montreat reliever in Trevor Laughlin. Laughlin came into the game to start the seventh frame and went the rest of the way, keeping TMU scoreless and allowing just one hit. The Junction City, Kan. native struck out two Bears in his total of nine batters faced.
 
In the top of the ninth, a Jaider Morelos sacrifice fly and a Ramos single to right brought two runs across to tie the game. Manny Moore came up to bat two hitters later and smashed a three-run blast to left center, blowing the game open 5-2 in favor of the Cavs. The game finished that way as the Bears went down in order in the bottom half of the frame.
 
Ramos and Austin led the Cavs with two hits apiece. All five Montreat runs were scored by different Cavaliers. The Moore home run marked the only extra-base hit in the contest for Montreat. Austin finished 2-for-3 with his two singles, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
 
Montreat batters went 7-for-32 in the nine-inning affair. A total of four errors were made by the Cavs. Montreat walked eight times and was hit by four pitches.
 
"Today was a good day, the guys fought back," said head coach Jason Beck. "Merritt Evans did a great job just keeping us in the game. It took us a little bit longer than we thought as we were a little bit light with the bats. The big hit by Manny gave us a cushion, and then Trevor Laughlin did a great job finishing those last three innings."
 
The Cavaliers and TMU conclude the series tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader that begins at 1 p.m. in Cleveland, Ga.