Columbia, SC – The CIU Baseball team returned home after a long hiatus away from the CIU campus Thursday as they hosted Aquinas College (Mich.). The Saints of Aquinas traveled to the southeast this week to compete with several southern opponents. CIU entered the contest coming off a victory over NCAA opponent Coker University while Aquinas came off a loss to Trinity Baptist. Both teams had sluggish starts offensively but CIU would pull out the win, 2-1.
How It Happened:
- The Saints saw superb pitching out of Hunter Morrison, who kept the Rams scoreless through seven innings.
- After a solid start from Trent Polly, the Rams' bullpen saw plenty of action as Ryan Gregory, Kyle York, and Chandler Hunter held Aquinas scoreless through eight innings.
- At the top of the 4th with two outs and two men on base, Coach Johnson would choose to intentionally walk Nick Brezezinski and load the bases. The ploy would work as the Rams capitalized and threw out the next batter on a ground out.
- CIU would finally get on the board at the bottom of the 7th as Alex Miller hit a single, then stole two bases and eventually scored on a passed ball.
- Courtland hit a grounder back to the pitcher in the bottom of the 8th and then would reach third base moments later on the pitcher's wild throw to first. Howard would then score after a sacrifice fly from Buddy Bleasedale.
- Despite the Saints sending in a run in the 9th, Hunter Coleman closed out the game for CIU notching the save.
Game Notes:
What Coach Johnson is saying:
"It is great to win another close game. We are making strides to becoming a good baseball team."
Up Next:
With the coronavirus looming, CIU's schedule is currently unclear. This weekend's baseball games against Bryan College have been postponed, and CIU's athletics is presently waiting for further instructions from the NAIA and AAC on how to proceed.
