COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU baseball played their Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) home opener on Friday as CIU hosted No. 5 Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU). CIU defeated the then No. 1 ranked Bulldogs (14-1, 4-0) last season 2-1 in their conference series in Athens. However, CIU (6-12, 0-4) dropped the first game of the series on Friday as they fell to TWU 10-7.
CIU's career homerun leader Joshua Hernandez did what he does best in the bottom of the first inning, lifting a ball over the left-field for a two-run homerun, putting CIU up 2-1. A series of errors and a few mishaps by the Rams' fielders yielded six runs in the third inning for the Bulldogs putting CIU in a deep 7-2 hole. The Rams steadily climbed their way back into the contest setting up a game-tying homerun from Grant Bodison in the bottom of the fifth. Pitchers Justin Parish and Brett Collins shut out TWU from the third inning all the way to the top of the ninth. However, the Bulldogs added three runs in the top of the final inning as the Rams couldn't quite hang on, falling 10-7.
BOX SCORE NOTES:
- Justin Parish started the contest pitching six innings, recording three strikeouts and allowing three earned runs.
- Junior Carter Willis had a solid afternoon going 3-of-4 with a double and a base on balls.
- Joshua Hernandez had a three-RBI day on a homerun and a sacrifice fly.
- Jan Maldonado stepped up for the Rams as the sophomore went 2-of-3 while also getting on base after being hit by a pitch.
- Senior Grant Bodison notched a homerun going 2-of-3 at the plate with two RBI's.
Up next:
CIU will continue their series with TWU at Miller Field as they face the Bulldogs in a doubleheader beginning on Saturday at noon.
