MONTREAT, N.C.— Montreat's baseball team concluded its series against the Kentucky Christian University Knights Saturday afternoon at Newell Field. The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series marked the first on their true home field this season for the Cavaliers. In the full nine innings, the Cavs swung for nine hits without committing an error in their 6-5 loss.
The Cavaliers opened the scorebook first when
Dawson Bryant singled to center field.
Devon Smith scored from third base after he doubled in his at-bat. KCU answered in the top of the next frame. With two on and no outs, it capitalized with an RBI single of its own. After that, the Montreat defense stepped up and secured the final three outs in the inning.
Both teams scored a run in the fifth.
Justin Austin poked a solo homer to center field that just kept on floating over the wall. The bomb tied both squads at two apiece. The Knights led off with a solo shot of their own to answer, but the Cavaliers plated two runs to combat yet again. A Smith sacrifice fly scored
Hunter Furches, and a Bryant single up the middle ushered
Connor Goff home.
With the Cavs leading 4-3, KCU drilled a three-run jack to right center. Montreat managed to get out of the inning on a 1-6-3 double play. The Cavaliers held the Knights at six the rest of the game but couldn't manage to put more than just one run on the board.
Jaider Morelos slapped a home run to center field to bring the Cavs within one. Montreat ended the game after striking out looking and lining out to right field in the bottom of the ninth.
Logan Strickland got the start and commanded the mound for six full frames. Strickland allowed eight hits and three runs while striking out a batter and walking two.
Trevor Laughlin came in after the Knight home run and shut down the rest of the KCU batters. Laughlin pitched 2 2/3 frames and only hit and walked one batter.
Individually for Montreat, both Bryant and Morelos tallied two hits in the battle, leading the Cavs. Bryant also led with two RBIs in the game. Morelos' two knocks were both for extra bases—two of the four that Montreat had on the day. Austin notched his third home run of the year, and the big fly from Morelos was his second of the year—the first came during the initial game in the series.
The Cavs went 9-for-34 in the loss. They struck out five times and walked four.
Jason Brulport walked twice and still leads the team in the category with 21.
On deck for the Cavs, they will host the University of St. Francis Fighting Saints in a solo nonconference affair scheduled for Monday. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. at Newell Field in Montreat, N.C.
