MONTREAT, N.C. — The Montreat College baseball team held off Union Commonwealth University in a tightly contested Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup on Friday afternoon, securing a 5-4 victory. The Cavaliers totaled five runs on 11 hits, highlighted by a pair of Tommy Ramos homers, while UCU finished with four runs on eight hits. With the win, Montreat improved to 26-15 (10-9 AAC), while the Bulldogs fell to 6-27 (3-18 AAC) on the season.
Union Commonwealth struck first with a solo home run in the opening inning, but Montreat responded in the second. Ramos ignited the offense with a solo blast to right center, evening the score. Gustavo Gonzalez followed with a single up the middle and later crossed the plate on an RBI double from Gabriel Ferrell, giving the Cavaliers a 2-1 lead through two frames.
In the fourth inning, Daniel Restrepo sparked the squad with a single and took advantage of an error by the left fielder, racing around the bases to score on the play. The heads-up baserunning extended Montreat's advantage to 3-1.
The Cavaliers added to their momentum in the fifth as Ramos delivered again, launching his second home run of the day, this time a two-run shot to center that stretched the lead out to 5-1.
The Bulldogs chipped away in the seventh, capitalizing on a wild pitch to bring in a run and trim the deficit to 5-2. Union kept the pressure on in the eighth, blasting a two-run homer to pull within one. Montreat answered the call in the ninth, though, holding strong through the final frame to secure the hard-fought 5-4 victory.
Bryton Williams turned in a strong outing for the hosts, working six innings with five strikeouts, while allowing one run on five hits and a walk, to earn his fifth win of the season. Nick Kantzavelos added a frame of relief, surrendering one run on one hit to go along with a strikeout. Isaiah Pappas followed with an inning, giving up two runs on two hits, including a home run, while striking out two. Trevor Laughlin closed it out with a scoreless frame and one punchout to record his first save of the campaign.
Ramos led the offense with two home runs and three RBIs, which also enabled him to score twice. Cameron Nagel added two hits, including a double, scored a run and stole a base. Restrepo notched two base knocks with a single and a double, and he crossed the plate once. Gonzalez also finished with a pair of hits. Ferrell chipped in a base knock and an RBI, while both Kaden Ethier and Zachary Long tallied a single.
Looking ahead, Montreat aims to secure the series on senior day as it hosts Union Commonwealth tomorrow at noon at Newell Field in Montreat, N.C.
