KINGSPORT, TENN. - CIU baseball (28-20, 14-16 AAC) made its fourth appearance in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) tournament as the No. 7 seed, facing off against No. 6 seed Pikeville (26-20, 17-13 AAC) on Tuesday morning. The Rams battled hard but suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in the opening round.

Pikeville 3 CIU 2: Both teams were locked in a scoreless battle through three innings until Pikeville broke through with three straight hits to take a 2-0 lead in the fourth. CIU responded with an RBI single from Tanner Henderson in the fifth and a game-tying RBI triple by Mason Turner in the sixth, but the Bears pulled ahead again in the seventh. Turner reached third base in the final inning after a one-out single and a throwing error, but the Rams couldn't bring him home, falling 3-2 in the tournament opener.

Box Score Highlights: 

• Turner led the team with two hits and an RBI. 

• The Rams recorded a season high of three triples. 

• Noah Davis recorded four strikeouts in 4.0 IP. 

Up Next: The Rams are back in action tomorrow, Wednesday, April 30, at 9 a.m. EST. They will take on the loser of No. 4 Milligan and No. 9 Bluefield.