KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— The Montreat baseball team continued its Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series against the No. 19-ranked Johnson University Royals on Saturday. After being defeated 6-4 on Friday, the Cavaliers were swept in the doubleheader by scores of 13-8 and 10-2.
 
In game one, Montreat (13-19, 6-9 AAC) scored two runs in the opening frame to take a quick lead over the Royals. In the bottom of the inning, Johnson scored on a wild pitch to slash the Cavs' lead in half. From there, the Royals (22-6, 12-3 AAC) never looked back. In the second, third and fourth innings, the Royals scored three, four and two runs, respectively. The top of the fourth sparked some Cavalier runs as Jaider Morelos reached on an error that brought Devon Smith home, and Tommy Ramos notched a single to get two runs to the plate. The Cavs trailed 8-5 after the top of the fourth inning.
 
A Smith double in the fifth ushered Kaden Ethier to score. The Royals pushed the game out of reach of the Cavaliers when they scored three in the sixth. Montreat got two runs back before the game ended, however.
 
Richard Matos Delacruz homered after his loud hit was initially ruled a foul ball. The eighth-inning blast trimmed the hosts' edge to 13-7. Dawson Bryant allowed the final run of the game to cross the plate when he reached on an error. Ethier scored the run. The Cavs lost the ballgame, though, 13-8.
 
Logan Strickland started on the mound and pitched 2 1/3 innings. He surrendered nine hits and eight runs. Strickland struck out a batter while walking five in the process. Nick Kantzavelos, Donovan Parker and Derek Peterson also threw in the contest. As a group, the relievers allowed seven hits and five runs. They struck out two batters and walked five.
 
In game two, the Cavs looked to get a consolation win after losing the series. Gio Quintero smashed a homer to left in the second to tie the game at one run each in the early going of the finale.
 
The Royals scored five in the bottom of the third to lead the visitors 8-1 after three innings. Montreat couldn't put anything else on the scoresheet until the final frame. That's when Collin Nelson obliterated a baseball over the fence in right field to notch the Cavaliers' second run. The Cavs fell in game two, 10-2.
 
The Cavaliers used six arms in the final game of the series. After Ashe Ammerlaan started, Ryan Henrickson and Dawson Yokley each pitched an inning to give Ammerlaan a break. Braden Holliday, Parker and Hunter Rast also got time on the bump in the loss. The final three pitchers combined for no hits.
 
No Cavalier had more than one hit in game two. Both Bryant and Smith swung for four hits. Morelos and Ramos led the way with two RBIs apiece, both in the initial game.
 
In total, Montreat had 22 knocks on the day, with four of them going for extra bases. The Cavs produced their offense from 70 at-bats. The Cavaliers didn't steal any bases and were caught once. They struck out 16 times and walked seven times.
 
"This was a tough weekend for us," said head coach Jason Beck. "We really need to turn things around and get back to the drawing board. We've definitely hit a point where we are struggling, but we need to continue to battle. We could turn this around this Tuesday, and hopefully, we will play a little bit more consistently."
 
Up next, the Cavaliers will continue their road trip and travel to Spartanburg, S.C. on Tuesday to face the Spartanburg Methodist College Pioneers. The Cavs will play a doubleheader, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.