OXFORD, Ala. – The Montevallo softball team is set to begin the 2023 Gulf South Conference Tournament as the No. 6 seed with a first-round matchup against No. 3 West Alabama set for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 3 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.
"I'm proud of the fight this team has shown in the last month of season," said Head Coach Beth Wade. "We are a very young team that has had to battle through and learn a lot on the fly, and that is a hard thing to do in the GSC. The one thing that has never wavered is their desire to get better and compete no matter the odds."
The Falcons earned the sixth seed after an action-packed final weekend of the GSC season that saw Montevallo take a series sweep over West Georgia to move to 19-22 overall and 13-14 in GSC play to finish sixth in the league. After posting a 3-5 record in two early-season tournaments, Montevallo took both of its first home games of the season with wins over Spring Hill on Feb. 17. UM split a doubleheader with Columbus State after a record-setting performance in the final nonconference series of the season.
Montevallo took one game from then ranked No. 11 Alabama Huntsville in the first GSC faceoff of the year before moving to 4-2 in conference play with a series sweep over Shorter the following weekend. The Falcons struggled against in-state foes Auburn Montgomery and West Alabama with Montevallo going on a six-game losing streak over two weeks. The Falcons bounced back with a win over West Florida in game two of the series before taking a series win with two victories over Lee on the road. Montevallo fell in a 12-inning heartbreaker in game one of the series with Delta State. The Falcons answered with two wins in the final games of the DSU series before pulling off a Senior Day upset over No. 18 Mississippi College on April 23. Heading into the final week of the season, Montevallo was in danger of being eliminated from the GSC tournament but, with some help from around the league, Montevallo's series sweep over West Georgia secured the Falcons' trip to Choccolocco Park and move UM up to the No. 6 seed.
Individually, the Falcons' offense is led by seniors
Shelby Sloan and
Taylor Robinson with underclassmen
Alisha Lanyon and
Sydnee Reaves making their marks on the season. Sloan's .414 batting average ranks seventh in the GSC and first on the team while her ten home runs are fourth on the squad. Sloan has notched a team-high 53 hits with four doubles, a triple and 41 RBI with just 17 strikeouts. NFCA Player and Pitcher of the Year Watchlist selection
Taylor Robinson ranks seventh in the league with a team-leading 15 home runs. The Falcons' first baseman holds a .348 batting average with an .830 slugging percentage, an on-base percentage of .497 for a 1.327 OPS, while driving in 41 runs on 39 total hits.
Sophomore third baseman
Alisha Lanyon leads the Falcons and the league with a total of 17 doubles while batting .362 with 47 hits in 130 at-bats. The Tampa, Fla. native holds one of the highest slugging percentages in the league at .762 with a .397 on-base mark for a 1.159 OPS while adding 38 RBI. Lanyon owns the most multi-hit games by a Falcon this season with 15 out of Montevallo's 41 games while reaching base in 14-consecutive games at one point in the season. In her first season in a Falcon uniform, freshman outfielder
Sydnee Reaves posted a team-high four triples during the regular season. Reaves has batted .327 on the year with a Montevallo-high 40 runs scored on 35 hits. The freshman is second on Montevallo's squad with 12 homers on the season.
In the circle, freshman
Taylor Lloyd has appeared 29 games with 17 starts. The Soddy Daisy, Tenn. native has thrown 105.0 innings with 59 strikeouts to 58 walks with a team-high two saves and three complete games. Lloyd set a record earlier in the season with an 11.0 inning outing in Montevallo's 12-inning matchup with Delta State on April 15. Lloyd ranks second among GSC leaders with her two saves.
The Falcons are set to take on No. 3 seed West Alabama for the first game of the tournament after the Tigers finished the season with a 38-11 overall record with a 23-7 conference mark. Montevallo will look to redeem a series-loss to then receiving votes UWA on March 24-25.
The first pitch of the GSC Tournament is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May at in Oxford, Ala. at Choccolocco Park.
