MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Truett McConnell baseball team extended its season one more day with a 3-1 win over Cumberlands (Ky.) Tuesday night in the Montgomery Bracket of the 2017 NAIA baseball championships.
TMU is now 2-1 in Montgomery Bracket action this week.
The Bears fell behind early in the fourth inning as the Patriots' Bryan Benz hit a line drive over the center field wall to take a 1-0 lead.
TMU answered in the fifth on a Calob Rowland two-run bomb down the right field line. The Bears scored the final run of the game in the seventh inning on a double steal by Chris Carden and Evan Bensch.
Rowland got the start and went four innings, giving up the lone run while striking out three. Caleb Jameson came in in relief to earn the win with two innings of shutout baseball, while Carden earned the three-inning save, pitching a perfect final three innings and striking out four. With the final out of the game, Carden broke the single season record for innings pitched with 99.2.
The Bears will take on third-seeded Huntington University (Ind.) tomorrow at 1:30 CST with the winner going on to face top-seeded Faulkner in the championship round later that day.
