Thomasville, Ga. — The Blue Mountain Christian Toppers continued Southern States Athletic Conference play Saturday with the first two games of a three-game series against the Thomas Night Hawks. The Toppers fell in both contests, with scores of 9-2 and 5-2.
In game one, Thomas took an early lead, scoring two runs in the first inning and adding a solo home run in the second to take a 3-0 advantage. Blue Mountain Christian responded in the third inning when Cody Presley drove in Jacob Bryant with an RBI single, trimming the deficit. The Night Hawks added another run in the bottom half of the inning, but the Toppers fought back in the fifth. Jarrett Morris reached base to set up Yaidel Perez, who delivered an RBI single to bring home Ross Polizzi and make the score 4-2.
Thomas added insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings to close out the game. Perez led the Toppers offensively, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Presley added an RBI hit, and Bryant reached base four times, including three walks and a hit by pitch. Garrett Lance and Gavin Foley also recorded hits. Caleb Hall started on the mound for Blue Mountain Christian, working 4.2 innings with one strikeout. Ryan Murphy pitched the final 1.1 innings.
In game two, Thomas again struck early, scoring four runs in the first inning and adding another in the fourth to build a 5-0 lead. The Toppers continued to compete and found offense late in the game. Jake Meilstrup led the team with a 2-for-3 performance, including a double, a stolen base, and a run scored. Blue Mountain Christian broke through in the seventh inning with an RBI double from Gates Gerhart to score Jarrett Morris. The team added another run in the eighth when Perez hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Meilstrup.
Bryant and Morris contributed hits, while Gerhart finished with a double and an RBI. Chris Matthews started for the Toppers, and Jack Hearn pitched four scoreless innings in relief, striking out three to keep the game within reach. Blue Mountain Christian will look to rebound in the series finale against Thomas.
