CLEVELAND, Ga.— After taking the series opener on Friday, the Montreat baseball team renewed its three-game set with the Truett McConnell University Bears Saturday afternoon in Cleveland, Ga. With the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series on the line, the Cavaliers rebounded from a 4-1 defeat in the initial half of today's doubleheader to capture a 5-3 victory in the latter half of the twin bill. With the series triumph, Montreat moved to 6-10 (3-3 AAC) on the year.
 
Thanks to a stellar start on the mound, Truett McConnell (3-10, 1-5 AAC) was able to snatch a win in game one. Montreat had a pair of baserunners in the top of the first, but the visitors only achieved that twice more before getting onto the scoreboard in the eighth. The Cavs' lone run in the opening matchup ultimately scored on an error.
 
TMU capitalized on a defensive miscue midway through the ballgame. After grabbing a 1-0 lead in the second via a sacrifice fly, a pair of errors in the fourth aided the hosts in extending their advantage to 4-0. When the final out was recorded, the Bears walked away victoriously, 4-1.
 
Jason Brulport registered two of the Cavaliers' five hits in game one. The Kenosha, Wis. native batted 2-for-2 while also drawing a pair of walks. Zeb Marquis, Jaider Morelos and Kaden Ethier also notched hits in the defeat.
 
Montreat's bullpen was brilliant in the first showdown. After Ryan Henrickson hurled 3 1/3 innings for his start, Logan Strickland stepped in and tossed 3 2/3 hitless innings. Jayden Hughes also threw a hitless frame in the eighth.
 
Truett McConnell struck first in the latter matchup as well, plating a run in the bottom of the first with a single to left; however, the Bears did a lot more swinging and missing than they did hitting for a large chunk of Ashe Ammerlaan's start.
 
A native of Oranjestad, Aruba, Ammerlaan punched out 11 batters across five innings of work, both bests in his first month with the Cavs. Six walks helped TMU eventually score three off Ammerlaan, but the lefty limited his counterparts to merely three hits on the day.
 
Montreat's deficit didn't exist for more than a half inning. In the top of the second, Connor Goff pushed a run across with a sac bunt. Marquis later put the visitors in front at 2-1 with an RBI single to right.
 
Justin Austin tacked on an insurance run via a sac fly in the fourth, and Ethier lined a single into right center during the fifth, plating two more to build the visitors' edge up to 5-1.
 
Truett McConnell threatened late, cutting the gap to 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth. The hosts even put the tying run on second during their final at-bat, but Hunter Rast closed out the 5-3 win with two scoreless frames. Rast contributed a pair of Ks as well, bringing Montreat's strikeout total up to 13 for the series finale.
 
Four different Cavaliers etched a knock at the dish in game two, while five came around to touch home plate. Austin, Manny Moore and Devon Smith each walked twice, while Ethier totaled two RBIs.
 
"It was a rough weekend for us as we did not execute the way we wanted," said head coach Jason Beck. "But, in the end, we had a couple guys step up and secure the series win. I thought our bullpen did really well, and Kaden Ethier had a key hit that turned the weekend for us. Hopefully, we can continue to build as we look to make our weekends easier and not harder for ourselves."
 
Montreat is back home on Tuesday for a nonconference affair with Spartanburg Methodist College. First pitch is currently slated for 3 p.m. at Newell Field in Montreat, N.C.