MONTEVALLO, Ala. – University of Montevallo freshman Dane Hutcheon drove in junior Zack Willoughby with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Falcons to a 5-4 walk-off win against visiting Young Harris College in the opening game of a three-game Peach Belt Conference series March 1 at Kermit A. Johnson Field.
The Falcons erased a 6-0 deficit in a 13-6 win over the Mountain Lions in the nightcap.
Montevallo will look for a sweep of Young Harris in the series finale Sunday, March 1. First pitch in the final game of the series is set for 1 p.m.
The Falcons (12-5 overall, 5-3 in Peach Belt Conference) erased a 3-0 deficit against the Mountain Lions in the series opener.
Sophomore Vinny Rodriguez led the Falcons offensively as he finished 2-for-4 and drove in one run.
Senior Will Fulmer went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double. Junior Matthew Haskins finished 1-for-2 at the plate and drove in two runs.
Willoughby went 1-for-4 at the plate and scored two runs in the victory. Hutcheon finished 1-for-4 at the plate and drove in two runs. Sophomore Jeremy Hyde went 1-for-3 at the plate.
Senior Pablo Martell and sophomore Chase Bryant also scored one run in the win.
Sophomore Aron McRee (1-0) picked up the win after pitching 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief with two strikeouts and two walks. Sophomore starter Cody Hughes allowed four runs, including three earned runs, on eight hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in 7 2/3 innings.
Trailing Young Harris 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning, the Falcons got on the board when Bryant scored on a sacrifice fly by Haskins.
Montevallo tied the game at 3-3 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Rodriguez scored the first run in the frame on a RBI single by Hutcheon before Willoughby scored on a passed ball to tie the game.
The Falcons took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when Martell scored on a RBI single by Haskins.
Young Harris tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the eighth inning. However, the Falcons clinched the walk-off win with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Willoughby singled up the middle in the inning and advanced two bases on a throwing error by the Mountain Lions before scoring the winning run on the sacrifice fly by Hutcheon.
The Falcons scored five runs in the seventh inning and five runs in the eighth inning in the nightcap in a 13-6 comeback victory over Young Harris.
Rodriguez led Montevallo as he finished 4-for-5 at the plate. Rodriguez drove in one run and scored one run in the win.
Haskins, who drove in four runs and scored one run, went 2-for-5 at the plate with a double. Slaid, who drove in four runs and scored three runs, finished 2-for-3 at the plate as he hit his Peach Belt Conference leading eighth homer of the season. Hutcheon, who drove in one run and scored one run, went 2-for-4 at the plate.
Willoughby finished 1-for-5 at the plate and scored one run. Sophomore Thomas Bradey went 1-for-3 at the plate and drove in one run. Bryant, who drove in two runs and scored one run, finished 1-for-4 at the plate. Hyde finished 1-for-3 at the plate. Sophomore Michael Simmons went 1-for-1 at the plate and scored one run, while Fulmer scored two runs in the victory.
Senior Edward Brandsema (1-3) picked up his first win of the season after pitching five scoreless innings in relief. Brandsema allowed just two hits and finished with three strikeouts.
Senior Alex Guilford allowed six runs, including four earned runs, on nine hits with two strikeouts and one walk in his first start of the season.
The Mountain Lions plated six runs in the first four innings in the nightcap to jump out to a 6-0 lead.
Bradey and Hutcheon came through with back-to-back RBI singles in the bottom of the fifth inning to trim the deficit to 6-3. Bryant opened the flood gates with an RBI single in the seventh inning, sparking the Falcons to a five-run inning as Montevallo took an 8-6 lead.
The Falcons added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, capped with a two-run homer by Slaid, to push their lead to 13-6.
Following the conference series against the Mountain Lions, the Falcons will return to action Wednesday, March 5 with a non-conference game against UAH.
First pitch at Kermit A. Johnson Field is set for 5 p.m.
