Blue Mountain, Miss.- Blue Mountain Christian University took the opener against Point University by a 7-4 score Friday in an SSAC series at the BMCU Sportsplex, turning steady offense and a calm pitching performance into a lead they never relinquished.
From the first inning, the Toppers set the tone. A passed ball with two men aboard allowed the game's first run, and BMCU's lineup followed that momentum with back-to-back runs in the second and third innings. 
An RBI double by Jake Meilstrup plated Yaidel Perez in the second, and Perez himself drove in another in the third while helping extend the early advantage.
Blue Mountain's offense wasn't content with just a lead; they kept finding ways to score.
A sacrifice fly from Reise Thomas brought in another run in the fifth, and while Point scratched across two in the sixth, Jarret Morris answered immediately with an RBI single that restored a multi-run margin. 
The top of the seventh became the Toppers' insurance frame, as Morris delivered again with a two-RBI base knock, driving in Ross Polizzi and Jacob Bryant to make it a four-run game.
Point battled into the late innings, tagging on two more in the ninth, but the work of Chip Harris on the mound early and Jesse Hancock in relief kept Blue Mountain ahead, limiting the Skyhawks' threats while the Toppers continued to apply pressure. 
Offensively, Cody Presley's three hits and Morris's timely base knocks anchored a balanced attack that produced ten hits on the afternoon.
In the end, BMCU's patience at the plate and timely execution put them in front early and kept them there, setting a confident tone for the series as the team's head into Saturday's tilt.
 
 
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