BLUEFIELD, Va.— The Montreat baseball team traveled to Virginia for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) game against the Bluefield University Rams. The single game on Friday kicked off at 5 p.m. The Cavs won the contest, 5-3.
 
Montreat (11-11, 6-4 AAC) opened the scorebook to start the game in the first inning. Manny Moore grounded out, but Connor Goff made it home. The Cavs tacked on another when Goff scored via a balk in the third to double the lead.
 
Bluefield (6-9, 2-5 AAC) scored all three of its runs in the fourth inning. Two consecutive singles brought three Rams across home plate; however, the Cavaliers answered and took the lead in the top of the fifth. Blake Watts smashed a two-run bomb to left field. The deep ball scored Morelos. Two batters later, Jason Brulport turned on one and made a deposit to right field to give the Cavs a two-run lead at 5-3.
 
Merritt Evans got the nod at the bump and lasted seven innings. He gave up nine hits and three runs in his seventh start for Montreat. He walked two batters and struck out four. Evans secured the win in the AAC battle with his performance, improving his record to 2-3. Trevor Laughlin came in and shut down the Rams for his second save of the year. He pitched the final two innings and recorded a strikeout without allowing a hit or a run in his shift.
 
"Today was a well-played game by both teams," said head coach Jason Beck. "Merritt Evans did a great job keeping us in the game, and Trevor Laughlin was fantastic closing it out. I was really happy with answering right back with two home runs after giving up that three-run inning. It was a well-played and balanced game."
 
Watts' long bomb was the only hit he swung for in the game. Brulport and Kaden Ethier led Montreat with two hits each. Brulport had a home run in the fifth and a single in the second. Either singled in the sixth and doubled in the eighth. Dawson Bryant walked a season-high four times, leading the Cavs.
 
Altogether, the Cavaliers hit seven baseballs from 33 at-bats. Of the seven hits, three were for extra bases. They walked nine times and struck out six. The five Montreat runs came from four RBIs.
 
The Cavaliers will play the Rams again tomorrow in a doubleheader that is anticipated to begin at 1 p.m. After the series, Montreat will play the Penn State Scranton Lions in a neutral-site competition held in Mocksville, N.C. on Monday.