BLUEFIELD, Va. (Apr. 17, 2021) – After sweeping Friday's doubleheader to win the three-game Appalachian Athletic Conference series at Bluefield College, the Truett McConnell University baseball team fell 12-11 to the Rams in game three on a walk-off on Saturday despite an early lead. The Bears fell to 23-16, 12-11 AAC on the season, while the Rams improved to 18-20, 9-14 AAC.
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PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Bears got off to a hot start scoring seven runs in the first inning.
Josh Johnston put the Bears up on the board first on
Mason Gaines batted ball, which forced a Bluefield bobble (1-0). Another Bluefield error allowed
Mikal Mascarello and
Andrew Johnston to score (3-0) and
Will Ingram's single to right scored two more (5-0).
Tanner Griffith squeezed
Devyn Munroe home (6-0) and
Julian Galassi singled to center to score
Grant McDonel (7-0). The Rams responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first (7-2) but TMU scored three more in the second off another Ingram single (9-2) and another Griffith sacrifice bunt squeeze (10-2).
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Despite the eight-run advantage, Bluefield rallied inning by inning to inch in from behind. The Rams scored four in the third (10-6) and one in the third (10-7) before the Bears scored their 11th and final run of the series in the seventh on A. Johnston's sacrifice fly (11-7). The Rams answered with three more runs in the bottom half of the seventh to get within one (11-10), but it ultimately came down the ninth when the Rams tied it up on an RBI double (11-11) and clinched the win on a walk-off single to center (11-12).
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LEADERS
Overall, the Rams recorded a total of 14 hits to TMU's 11. Ingram led the way with four RBIs going 3-for-4 with one walk. Griffith (1-for-3) and
Cason King (1-for-5) added two RBIs apiece. Galassi and Mascarello added two hits apiece.
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UP NEXT
The Bears return home for the remainder of their regular season. First on the schedule is Toccoa Falls College on Tuesday, Apr. 20, at 6:00 p.m., before hosting Columbia International University for a three-game AAC series on Friday, Apr. 23 – Saturday, Apr. 24.Â
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