AMERICUS, Ga. – University of Montevallo junior Vinny Rodriguez provided three hits and paced the Falcons' offense in his return to the lineup in a 13-5 win over Georgia Southwestern in their Peach Belt Conference opener Feb. 15.
The Falcons (6-3 overall, 1-1 in Peach Belt Conference) fell to the Hurricanes 6-5 in 12 innings in the nightcap of the doubleheader despite a late rally to erase a five-run deficit and send the game into extra innings.
First pitch in the final game of the Falcons' first series in conference play is set for Sunday, Feb. 16 at 12 p.m.
Rodriguez, a preseason third team NCAA Division II All-American selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and preseason All-Conference selection who missed the first two weeks of the season with an injury, finished 3-for-6 at the plate with a double in the Falcons' 13-5 win in the series opener. Rodriguez drove in two runs and scored one run in the victory.
Senior Will Fulmer went 3-for-5 with a double in the first game of the series while driving in three runs and scoring two runs.
Sophomore Brandon Marshall, who drove in two runs and scored one run, went 2-for-6 at the plate with a triple. Freshman Alex Jones, who drove in one run and scored one run, finished 2-for-3 at the plate.
Senior Jackson Slaid, who drove in one run and scored two runs, went 1-for-4 at the plate. Freshman Dane Hutcheon, who drove in one run and scored three runs, finished 1-for-2 at the plate. Sophomore Chase Bryant, who drove in one run and scored one run, and junior Matthew Haskins, who scored two runs, each went 1-for-1 at the plate. Freshman Jacob Whiting also drove in one run.
Sophomore Cody Hughes (1-0) picked up the win on the mound in the series opener. Hughes allowed three runs, including two earned runs, on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks in five innings in his second start of the season.
Senior Kincaid Koehler allowed one earned run on two hits with two strikeouts in three innings in relief. Freshman Tanner Koch allowed one earned run on one hit and issued one walk in the ninth inning.
The Falcons scored four runs in the top of the third inning to take a 4-1 lead over the Hurricanes. Willoughby plated the first run with a RBI sacrifice fly. Marshall added a two-run single before Jones capped the scoring in the frame with an RBI single.
Georgia Southwestern trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the bottom half of the inning before Montevallo plated six runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 10-4 lead. Slaid started the scoring in the inning with a RBI single and Rodriguez added a two-run double before Whiting, Hutcheon and Fulmer each scored on back-to-back-to-back walks with the bases loaded.
The Falcons added another run to push their lead to 11-3 in the top of the sixth inning on a RBI double by Fulmer.
Montevallo added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning to extend its lead to 13-3. Marshall, who led off the inning with a triple, scored on a RBI single by Bryant. Bryant scored later in the inning on a RBI sacrifice fly by Fulmer.
The Falcons overcame a 5-0 deficit with five runs in the top of the eighth inning to send the nightcap into extra innings before coming up short in a 6-5 loss in 12 innings.
Fulmer led Montevallo offensively as he finished 3-for-6 at the plate. Rodriguez, who drove in one run and scored one run, went 1-for-6 at the plate with a double.
Willoughby finished 1-for-6 at the plate with a double and scored one run. Junior Michael Simmons went 1-for-2 at the plate and drove in one run after pinch hitting for senior Pablo Martell. Bryant finished 1-for-4 at the plate with a double and Hutcheon, who scored one run, went 1-for-4 at the dish.
Slaid and Haskins each drove in one run and scored one run.
Senior Edward Brandsema (0-2) took the loss in the second game of the doubleheader despite a solid 5 1/3 innings in relief. Brandsema allowed just one earned run on three hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in his first relief appearance this season.
Junior starter Jeremy Bagnall allowed five runs, including three earned runs, on 11 hits with three strikeouts and no walks in 6 1/3 innings in the nightcap.
Georgia Southwestern plated two runs in the first inning, one run in the second inning and two runs in the seventh inning to jump out to a 5-0 lead. However, the Falcons scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at 5-5.
Slaid drove in the first run after reaching on an error before Rodriguez followed up with a RBI double. Haskins also drove in a run in the inning after reaching on an error that allowed both Slaid and Rodriguez to score. Simmons completed the comeback with a RBI single before Fulmer grounded out to end the inning with the bases loaded.
The Falcons had a chance to break the tie in the top of the 12th inning, but Haskins was stranded at third base after back-to-back strikeouts by Simmons and Bryant. Stephen Eldridge drove in Les Cromer on a RBI double with two outs in the bottom half of the frame to give the Hurricanes a walk-off victory.
Following the series at Georgia Southwestern, the Falcons will return to action Wednesday, Feb. 19 with a non-conference game against Stillman College at Kermit A. Johnson Field.
First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
