CLEVELAND, Ga. (Feb. 17, 2021) – The Truett McConnell University baseball team picked up a midweek 7-2 win over Columbia International University at the TMU Baseball Complex on Wednesday afternoon. Although the Rams are also a member of the Appalachian Athletic Conference, this game does not count towards the teams' conference records. The Bears improved to 6-2, 0-0 AAC on the season, while the Rams fell to 0-5, 0-0 AAC.
 
RUN BY RUN
The Rams got on the board first in the first off a homerun over the left field fence (0-1) but fifth-year Josh Johnston answered with a dinger of his own over the right field fence (1-1) in the bottom of the first. After junior Kodi Bishop led off the fifth with a single through the hole at shortstop, Bishop ran home on a sacrifice fly by Devyn Munroe (2-1), but the Rams swung for another homer at the top of the sixth to make the score even once again (2-2).
 
Freshman Cason King, however, went on to fuel the winning inning in the sixth with a walk. King scored the go-ahead run on Mason Gaines' single through the hole at short (3-1) and Gaines ran home on Tanner Griffith's single to shallow right-center (4-1). J. Johnston's single down the right field line scored Bishop (5-1), while Griffith and J. Johnston scored TMU's two final runs on Andrew Johnston's single down the left field (7-2) to ultimately put the game out of reach for CIU.
 
LEADERS
J. Johnston and Bishop each led going 2-for-4 with two runs apiece. A. Johnston went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, while J. Johnston also led with two RBIs. King went 1-for-2, while Griffith, Munroe, Gaines and Nelson added one hit apiece.
 
C.J. Thomas picked up his first win as a Bear throwing six innings of six hits, two runs, zero walks and two strikeouts. Andrew Fry, Cason Brown and Brooks Rosser closed the final three innings.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will take their first road trip of the season on Friday, Feb. 19, to face No. 3 Georgia Gwinnett College.