Lower Seeds Prevail at Baseball Tournament

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Union and Bluefield picked up wins on Tuesday to advance into the double-elimination portion of the 2014 AAC baseball tournament at Hunter Wright Stadium.

Union rallied to beat Johnson 8-6 in the rain-delayed opener before Bluefield knocked off St. Andrews 7-3 in the nightcap.

Action begins on Wednesday at 9 a.m. when No. 4 Milligan plays fifth-seeded Bryan, followed at noon by No. 3 Pikeville meeting No. 6 Montreat. The 4 p.m. game will see No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan playing 10th-seeded Union, while top-seeded Reinhardt matches up with No. 9 Bluefield at 7 p.m.

Tickets are now available and can be purchased by clicking here. Single-day tickets are $10 per adult and $5 for students. Tournament passes are also available for $25 per adult.

If unable to attend in person, all games will be streamed live online. To watch, click here.

Union 8, Johnson 6: Trailing 5-4 entering the seventh inning, Union scored two runs to take the lead and added two more in the eighth. The seventh-inning runs came in style, as Mason Kelley tied the game with a leadoff homer to left and Nathan McCabe put the Bulldogs in front to stay with a blast to right. Catcher Kamaehu Sanchez had three hits for Johnson.

Bluefield 7, St. Andrews 3: The Rams broke open a tie game by plating three runs in each of the seventh and eighth to win a brisk contest that was played in a mere 2:17. Left fielder Matt Beisecker had two doubles, including the one that broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh and drove in two runs. Nick Guerra had two hits and drove in a pair, while Sean Seale had two hits as well.

Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, April 30
Game 1 - No. 10 Union (19-27) def. No. 7 Johnson (24-21), 8-6 (box) - Johnson eliminated
Game 2 - No. 9 Bluefield (21-22) def. No. 8 St. Andrews (27-21), 7-3 (box) - St. Andrews eliminated

Wednesday, May 1
Game 3 - No. 4 Milligan (30-18) vs. No. 5 Bryan (25-20), 9 am
Game 4 - No. 3 Pikeville (30-17) vs. No. 6 Montreat (26-23-1), 12 pm
Game 5 - No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan (33-15) vs. No. 10 Union (19-27), 4 pm
Game 6 - No. 1 Reinhardt (35-14) vs. No. 9 Bluefield (21-22), 7 pm

Thursday, May 2
Game 7 - Game 4 Loser vs. Game 5 Loser, 9 am
Game 8 - Game 3 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser, 12 pm
Game 9 - Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 4 pm
Game 10 - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 7 pm

Friday, May 3
Game 11 - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser, 9 am
Game 12 - Game 8 Winner vs. Game 10 Loser, 12 pm
Game 13 - Game 9 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner, 4 pm
Game 14 - Game 10 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner, 7 pm

Saturday, May 4
Schedule will be finalized following the results of Games 13 and 14. If only one game, it will be played at 2 pm. If only one 'if necessary' game is needed, it will be played at 11 am with the championship game at 3 pm. If both 'if necessary games are needed, the games will be played at 11 am, 2 pm, and 6 pm.