ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The University of Montevallo baseball team took the first two games of a three-game Peach Belt Conference series on the road at Flagler College with a 2-1 win and a 8-2 victory in a doubleheader March 8.
The Falcons (15-6 overall, 7-4 in Peach Belt Conference) will look to sweep the conference series against the Saints in the third game of the series Sunday, March 9. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. CST.
The Falcons defeated Flagler 2-1 in the series opener after plating both runs in the top of the seventh inning to erase a 1-0 deficit against the Saints. Sophomore Dane Hutcheon drove in junior Zack Willoughby with an RBI single to left field and sophomore Thomas Bradey also scored on the play on a throwing error by the Saints.
Sophomore Cody Hughes picked up the win and improved to 2-0 on the season after giving up just one earned run on two hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in 6 1/3 innings.
Sophomore Aron McRee earned his fourth save of the season after striking out three and issuing one walk in 1 2/3 innings in relief. Junior Jeremy Bagnall, who walked one without recording an out, and junior Edward Brandsema, who provided one scoreless inning, also pitched in relief.
Hutcheon led the Falcons offensively as he finished 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in one run. Willoughby went 2-for-4 at the plate and scored one run.
Senior Pablo Martell and junior Vinny Rodriguez each finished 2-for-3 at the plate. Junior Matthew Haskins went 2-for-5 at the plate. Senior Will Fulmer finished 1-for-2 at the plate. Bradey scored one run in the win.
Andrew Brodbeck of Flagler provided one of the Saints' two hits in the game after leading off the bottom of the first inning with a solo homer. The Saints' only other hit came in the sixth inning on an infield single by Nick Kranick.
The Falcons took the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning when Willoughby, who doubled down the right field line, came around to score on the RBI single by Hutcheon. Bradey, who reached on a fielder's choice, scored the go ahead run on the Saints' error.
Montevallo defeated the Saints 8-2 in the nightcap.
Senior Alex Guilford picked up the win after giving up just two earned runs on on eight hits with two strikeouts in five innings on the mound.
Haskins led the Falcons offensively as he finished 3-for-5 at the plate with a homer. Haskins drove in three runs and scored one run.
Slaid, who drove in three runs and scored one run, finished 2-for-4 with a homer. Fulmer, Willoughby, Hutcheon and sophomore Vinny Rodriguez provided two hits each, with sophomore Chase Bryant finished 1-for-2 at the plate.
Flagler jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second game on a RBI single by Jake Taylor in the first inning.
The Falcons took a 4-1 lead with four runs in the top of the third inning. Haskins plated the first run with an RBI single before Slaid blasted a three-run homer over the wall in left center field to give Montevallo a three-run lead.
Haskins blasted a two-run shot in the top of the fourth inning to extend the Falcons' lead to 6-2. A two-run single by Haskins in the sixth inning extended the Falcons' lead to 8-2.
