MONTREAT, N.C. – CIU baseball finished their weekend series on Saturday with Montreat College as CIU swept the Cavaliers 3-0 taking game one, 6-0, and game two, 5-4. CIU (17-17) wins their 9th Appalachian Athletic Conference game of the season as CIU is now 9-9 in the AAC. Montreat (13-24) moves to 4-14 in the AAC.
GAME ONE (CIU 6 MC 0): The game started off just the way the Rams wanted as leadoff man Rafeal Gonzales homered to give CIU the 1-0 lead in the 1st inning. CIU's next run came off yet another home run as Gabe Austin hit a shot to left field for the 2-0 advantage in the 2nd inning. Justin Parish held the Cavaliers scoreless from the mound until CIU's bats got going again in the 6th as Austin scored on an error, and then Bryce Spittle scored off Gonzales' sac fly. The Ram's final two runs came in the top of the 9th as a two-RBI double courtesy of Kody Trujillo brought home Gonzales and Robert Bell as the Rams glided to the 6-0 win.
Game Notes:
- Rafeal Gonzales was highly effective for CIU with his first home run of the season which was one of his two RBI's. Gonzales recorded two hits and scored two runs.
- Kody Trujillo notched a double on his only hit of the game resulting in two RBI's.
- Gabe Austin added his 4th home run of the season, going 1-3 and scoring two runs.
- Justin Parish picked up his 4th win of the season as he recorded four strikeouts and teamed up with Christopher Seelbach for the shut-out.
GAME TWO: (CIU 5 MC 5– 7 innings): Once again, the Rams got going early as Gabe Austin picked up a two-RBI single in the 1st inning. Kody Trujillo would then add another run in the inning as he stole home, giving CIU the 3-0 advantage. After a seven-inning scoring drought by CIU and three runs scored by the Cavaliers, the Rams found themselves deadlocked at 3-3 heading into the 8th inning. With one out and Rafeal Gonzales on-base, Joshua Hernandez would step up to the plate and bang out his 12th home run of the season to give CIU the 5-3 lead. In the bottom of the 8th, the Cavaliers would put up one run before Hernandez entered the game as the Rams closer, striking out two batters to put an end to the contest as CIU swept the Cavaliers 3-0 with the 5-4 win.
Game Notes:
What Coach Jonathan Johnson is saying:
"This is the CIU team that needs to show up week in and week out. A team that finished off a team when they got the lead early and a team that was able to play a close game, losing the lead late and winning in extra innings on the road. It was fun watching the guys play with passion today!"
Up Next:
CIU is back in action next weekend against Milligan University, starting the Appalachian Athletic Conference series Friday at 12 PM in Columbia.
