CLEVELAND, Ga. - CIU baseball won their third consecutive Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) game Friday afternoon as the Rams opened up their weekend series with Truett McConnell (Ga.) with a 7-4 victory over the Bears. The Rams move a game above .500 with the victory at 11-10 overall and are 4-6 in AAC action.

CIU scored two runs in the first inning, with the second coming off the bat of Colton Lopez, who would go down as an RBI single. The Rams added two more in the second, this time thanks to Mason Turner, who got the scoring going with an RBI single. Truett homered in the fifth, but CIU responded with a home run of their own in the eighth as Kai Smith notched a two-run blast over the left field wall. A sac-fly from Graham Peeler capped the inning as CIU allowed three runs in the bottom of the eighth but staved off the Bears 7-4.

Box Score Notes:

• Davin Miller-Madden got the win on the mound, picking up three Ks in six innings of work.
• Connor Kirkley picked up the save, not allowing a hit in 1.2 innings with two strikeouts.
• Turner led the Rams at the plate with three hits, while Bradley Garland and Lopez each had two hits.

Up Next: The Rams finish their series with the Bears with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. ET tomorrow.