CLEVELAND, Tenn. –The No. 10 University of Montevallo baseball game dropped a pair of games on Saturday in Cleveland, Tennessee, to drop the series, 2-1.
The Falcons fell short in game one of the day 8-7 and dropped game two 7-6 in a walk-off.
UM is now 29-9 overall, and remains in a tie for first in the Gulf South Conference at 14-7.
This is just the second series loss on the year for the No. 10 Falcons.
Senior
Asa Awbrey capped off a monster series in which he finished 8-for-11 from the plate with eighth RBI.
GAME ONE
In game one of the doubleheader, Lee won 8-7, despite recording two errors.
The hosts scored in the bottom of the second inning, while Montevallo scored two runs in the top of the third inning with a two-RBI single from
Sam Kuchinski.
The Flames responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 4-2 lead, but Montevallo scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to go ahead 5-4.
Khalid Collymore drove one in on a groundout and an
Asa Awbrey two-RBI single added two more to give UM the one run lead.
A bases-loaded walk for Kuchinski added a run in the top of the sixth inning to lead 7-4, before Lee pulled within one with two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Two runs in the bottom of the eighth pushed Lee in front and Montevallo was unbale to answer in the ninth, falling 8-7.
Asa Awbrey,
Ben Teel, and
Evan Liddie had two hits each for Montevallo.
Michael Morse started the game for Montevallo, allowing six runs in six innings.
GAME ONE INFORMATION
Score: No. 10/21 Montevallo 7 | Lee 8
Records: No.10/21 Montevallo 29-8, 14-6| Lee 19-17, 8-11
Location: Cleveland, Tennessee
GAME ONE NOTES
- Montevallo scored seven runs on nine hits while Lee added eight on 12 hits.
- Asa Awbrey, Ben Teel and Evan Liddie each led UM with two hits while Awbrey went a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBI.
- Teel recorded the only extra base hit for UM – a double.
GAME TWO
In a closely contested game, Lee University defeated Montevallo by a score of 7-6 in game 2 of the doubleheader and game three of the series.
The game started slowly, with both teams failing to score in the first inning. The second inning followed the same pattern, and the game was scoreless until the third inning. Montevallo was the first team to put a run on the board, in the top of the third inning, with
Sam Kuchinski blasting a solo homer. Lee University responded to take a 2-1 run lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.
Both teams failed to score in the fourth inning, but Montevallo came alive in the fifth inning, scoring two runs to take the lead. The scoring began with an RBI sacrifice-fly followed by a
Ben Teel double to take a 3-2 lead.
Montevallo added another run in the sixth inning to extend their lead to 4-2 on an
Alex Langford RBI triple. Lee responded in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring three runs to take a 5-4 lead.
In the top of the seventh inning, Montevallo tied the game with a run, and then took the lead with another run. First,
Reed Latimer drove in Collymore on a double and Awbrey doubled to give UM the lead. The Flames had a chance to respond in the bottom of the inning, and they did so by scoring two runs to win the game, 7-6, on a walk-off.
The game was characterized by solid hitting from both teams. Montevallo had 10 hits, with nine players recording at-least one hit. Lee had only five hits, but they were able to capitalize on their opportunities, for seven runs.
Montevallo dropped to 29-9 overall and 14-7 in the Gulf South Conference with the loss.
Montevallo 6 | Lee 7
Records: No.10/21 Montevallo 29-9, 14-7| Lee 20-17, 10-11
Location: Cleveland, Tennessee
GAME TWO NOTES
- Montevallo scored six runs on 10 hits while Lee added seven runs on five hits.
- Asa Awbrey was 2-for-4 with one RBI to lead Montevallo.
- Nine Falcons recorded as least one hit. Six different players drove in a run.
- Five of UM's nine hits were for extra bases as Sam Kuchinski homered, Alex Langford tripled, Reed Latimer, Ben Teel and Awbrey doubled.
UP NEXT: Montevallo will return home for a midweek clash against Tuskegee on April 12.
