MONTREAT, N.C. - CIU baseball hit the road and headed to the Tar Heel State on Thursday to open up Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play against Montreat College (N.C.), dropping a pair of tightly contested games, 3-2 and 9-7. CIU held late-game chances in both matchups but came up just short in each contest. 

Game One: MC 3 CIU 2: It was a pitcher's duel through the first four innings, but CIU struck first in the top of the fifth after a Montreat error and an RBI single from Eli Musgraves. The Cavaliers cut the lead in half in the bottom of the frame, then took a 3-2 lead in the sixth. The Rams put the tying run just 90 feet away in both the eighth and ninth innings, but a pair of groundouts halted their comeback bid.

Musgraves was perfect at the plate, going 4-for-4 with an RBI. Aiden Pomnitz added two hits and a stolen base, while Miller Stuck surrendered just two hits in 5.1 innings of work. Collin Otte contributed out of the bullpen with two strikeouts in 1.0 innings. 

Game Two: MC 9 CIU 7: Montreat took advantage of a walk in the first inning to take an early lead, but the Rams evened the score in the second after Jennings Greene scored on a wild pitch and took the lead after RBI hits from Musgraves and Corbin Wright in the third. The Cavaliers took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth, but a three-run homer from Maddux Smith in the sixth put the Rams back in front. Montreat did not go down without a fight, scoring four in the bottom of the frame to regain a 9-7 lead. Aaron Guthrie delivered a two-out single in the Rams' final at-bat, but the rally fell short as they could not bring the tying run home.

Musgraves, Smith, and Guthrie each tallied two hits, while Smith drove in three runs with his first home run of the season. Cooper Dyar stole a team-high two bases, and Michael Meilinger fanned five over 5.0 innings on the mound.