MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The nationally-ranked University of Montevallo baseball team dropped the first two games of a three-game Peach Belt Conference series against No. 2 Lander in a doubleheader March 22 at Kermit A. Johnson Field.
The Falcons, ranked No. 24 in the latest College Baseball Lineup NCAA Division II poll, dropped the opener 16-4 before the Bearcats clinched the second game of the series with a 20-3 win.
Montevallo (17-12 overall, 8-9 in Peach Belt Conference) will look for a win over the Bearcats in the third and final game of the series Sunday, March 23 to avoid the sweep. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
The Falcons fell behind 2-0 in the top of the third inning in the nightcap before Montevallo cut the lead in half of a RBI single by senior Will Fulmer. However, the Bearcats scored 15 unanswered runs the remainder of the game to clinch the doubleheader sweep.
Montevallo added a run on a sacrifice fly by junior Zack Willoughby in the bottom of the sixth inning before senior Pablo Martell scored the Falcons' final run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Senior Alex Guilford took the loss after allowing 10 runs, including nine earned runs, on 14 hits with two strikeouts and one walk.
Fulmer led the Falcons at the plate as he finished 2-for-5 and drove in one run. Sophomore Chase Bryant went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored one run.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Bearcats controlled the outing from the very beginning.
Lander had a total of five home runs, including a leadoff bomb from Erik Lunde and two homers by Patrick Grady, in an offensive outburst, putting up 16 runs and earning a 16-4 victory over Montevallo.
The Falcons also showed offensive skill in the game, hitting two home runs of their own.
Willoughby hit his third home run of the year in the second inning. Willoughby cut a four run lead by Lander in half with a blast to deep center.
Junior Vinny Rodriguez also hit one out of the park for Montevallo, hitting a solo shot in the third inning for his third homer of the year.
Heading to the top of the fourth, Lander led by just a single run, but then rattled of 12 unanswered runs as the game wound down.
In a pinch hitting role, freshman Scotty Smith hit a triple and scored on a wild pitch in the ninth. Sophomore Thomas Bradey also went 1-for-1 in a pinch hitting role
Freshman Dane Hutcheon went 2-for-5.
