MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The Montevallo baseball team opened Gulf South Conference play Friday with a doubleheader split against No. 8 West Florida at Kermit A. Johnson Field at Bob Riesener Stadium. The Falcons claimed a dominant 9-0 shutout victory in the opener before the Argos answered with a 6-4 win in Game 2 to even the series.
Game 1 | Montevallo 9, No. 8 West Florida 0
Montevallo set the tone early in the conference opener, stringing together three consecutive singles from McGwire Turner, Caleb Karll and Evan Radford to begin the bottom of the first inning. Hudson Allen followed with an RBI single to left field to give the Falcons a 2-0 advantage.
The Falcons continued to apply pressure throughout the afternoon. Radford extended the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single in the fifth before Turner delivered a run-scoring base hit of his own. Karll then drove in two with a double to deep center field, stretching the margin to 6-0.
Radford capped his standout performance in the eighth inning, launching a three-run home run to left field to put the finishing touches on the 9-0 victory.
On the mound, Zach Wyatt turned in a dominant outing to earn his second win of the season. The righthander scattered four hits across 7.0 shutout innings while striking out six. Matthew Birdsong and Matthew Bullard combined to toss two scoreless frames in relief, securing Montevallo's first shutout of the season.
Game 2 | Montevallo 4, No. 8 West Florida 6
West Florida struck first in the nightcap with a run in the top of the opening inning, but Montevallo quickly responded with a three-run second inning to take the lead. Allen plated the Falcons' first run with an RBI groundout before Christian Kallaher lined an RBI single to center field. An Argo error later in the frame allowed Montevallo to take a 3-1 lead.
After West Florida trimmed the deficit to one with a run in the fourth, the Falcons answered again in the fifth. Mason Woolever delivered an RBI single up the middle to extend the advantage to 4-2.
The Argos, however, mounted a late rally in the seventh inning, scoring four runs to reclaim the lead. Montevallo threatened in the bottom half of the frame and put the tying run in scoring position, but West Florida held on to secure the 6-4 decision and even the series.
NOTABLES
UP NEXT: Montevallo and West Florida conclude the three-game series Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Kermit A. Johnson Field.
