KINGSPORT, Tenn. - CIU baseball played in their second Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament in program history on Tuesday as they took on the No. 7 seed Bluefield (Va.) in the tournament's single-elimination round. CIU (21-32) battled early, but Bluefield (29-16) pulled away midway through the game to dispatch CIU 14-3. 

The Rams fell behind in the top of the third inning, going down 3-0. CIU put up a fight, however, loading the bases and adding their first run of the game on a Buddy Bleasdale walk. The Rams cut the lead down to 3-2 before the end of the inning as Carter Willis scored on a wild pitch. Bluefield extended the advantage to 6-2 in the fifth, but again CIU responded, this time off of a home run from Chase Hadley to make it 6-3. The tide shifted in the sixth as Bluefield rattled off eight unanswered runs. The barrage was too much overcome as CIU succumbed after seven innings by a score of 14-3.

BOX SCORE NOTES: 

• Freshman Chase Hadley led the Rams at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run.
• Buddy Bleasdale was solid for CIU going 1-for-2 with an RBI and a base on balls.
• Trent Polly pitched the final inning of the game allowing just one hit

What Coach Jonathan Johnson is saying:
"Always tough to end a season knowing players have played their last college baseball game. I love my guys and can't wait to see them become Husbands and Fathers. I know their time at CIU had prepared them for success."