MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Auburn Montgomery baseball team hosted Tennessee Wesleyan in their home opener on Friday afternoon, falling in the first game of the doubleheader 12-2 before prevailing 7-6 in a 10-inning back-and-forth battle.
 
NOTES
• AUM improves to 4-2.
• Tennessee Wesleyan moves to 3-3.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS (GAME 1)
• Despite being credited with the loss, redshirt-sophomore righty Hank Scott matched his career-high with eight strikeouts in six innings of work while allowing two runs off five hits in the start.
• Junior second baseman Jonathan Brandt went 2-4 with a RBI.
• Junior third baseman Todd Burkett wet 1-3 with his lone hit going over the left field wall for a home run.
• For Tennessee Wesleyan, Dakota Phillips went 2-5 with two home runs and five RBI. Cole Bellair got the win after holding the Warhawks to one run off one hit in 3.1 innings with five strikeouts.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 1)
• Tennessee Wesleyan took the lead in the second inning, using a two-out single from Addison Adams to score Adrian Gonzalez who led off the frame with a single.
• AUM tied up the score in the third inning off a solo home run from Burkett to lead off the stanza.
• The Bulldogs used a solo shot of their own to retake the lead in the fifth, with Phillips taking one over the right field wall to create a 2-1 lead.
• TWU added to their lead in the eighth with three unearned runs, starting with a sacrifice fly from Alfred Cruz which plated Kyle Tunnell. An AUM wild pitch allowed Malik Stephens to score, while a two-out single from Tristan Clarke sent Tyler Halas home and made it 5-1.
• The Warhawks cut into the deficit in the eighth with a two-out single from Brandt scoring sophomore catcher Kyle Khoury, making it 5-2.
• Highlighted by a grand slam from Phillips, Tennessee Wesleyan scored seven runs in the final inning to hold a 12-2 advantage.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 1)
• AUM finished the contest with seven hits, one going for extra bases, and three walks. TWU tallied 10 with three extra-base hits to go with five walks.
• Both sides recorded one error and seven runs left on base.
• Tennessee Wesleyan successfully stole one base while AUM was caught on their lone attempt.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS (GAME 2)
• Senior shortstop Nathan Langley went 2-4 at the plate with three runs scored and a pair of walks. The Opelika, Ala., native also logged 3.1 innings on the mound, allowing two runs off four hits with three strikeouts.
• Junior center fielder Josh Flowers wet 2-4 with two RBI and a walk.
• Senior southpaw Garrett Deloney got the start in game two, logging 5.0 innings with four runs allowed off six hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks.
• For Tennessee Wesleyan, Noah Strohl went 3-4 with a home run.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 2)
• Tennessee Wesleyan was the first team to get on the scoreboard, with Cruz blasting a solo home run in the top of the third.
• In the following inning, the Bulldogs used back-to-back hits from Strohl and Aloysious Cruz to plate Strohl, who reached base with a double, and take a 2-0 lead.
• AUM cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth, starting the stanza with junior left fielder Logan Nix reaching on a hit by pitch and later sending him home on a wild pitch by the Bulldogs' pitcher.
• TWU recreated the two-run lead in the top of the fifth, as a two-out double from Clarke sent Cruz home and made it 3-1.
• Three errors by the Bulldogs' in the bottom of the fifth allowed the Warhawks to tie the score up at 3-3. Langley and Khoury scored for AUM, with both reaching base on back-to-back errors to start the frame.
• The tied score did not last long, as a leadoff blast from Strohl put Tennessee Wesleyan back on top 4-3 in the top of the sixth.
• Originally scheduled for seven innings, the Warhawks forced extras in the bottom of the seventh. Langley started the rally with a two-out single before later knotting the score off a double from Flowers.
• Tennessee Wesleyan retook the lead in the top of the eighth, platting Grant Lang off a two-out single from Stephens.
• Facing a doubleheader sweep, the Warhawks yet again orchestrated an equalizer run in the bottom of the eight, using a double from Langley and single from Khoury in back-to-back at bats to send Langley home and force a ninth inning with a 5-all score.
• Phillips led off the ninth inning with a home run, with three-straight outs following sending the Warhawks up to bat trailing 5-6.
• For the second-consecutive inning, the Warhawks matched Tennessee Wesleyan run-for-run as Flowers singled with one out to score senior Forrest Smith, who came in to pinch run for sophomore Hunter Hillyer who led the inning off with a double.
• After holding the Bulldogs scoreless in the 10th, AUM took its first lead of the doubleheader off a bases loaded wild pitch which allowed Langley to score the game-winning run.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE (GAME 2)
• AUM finished the contest with 10 hits, four of them doubles, and seven walks. TWU tallied 11 with five extra base hits and a five walks.
• Tennessee Wesleyan recorded four errors while AUM posted none.
• The Warhawks stranded 14 batters versus 12 for the Bulldogs.
• AUM stole three bases, TWU did not attempt any.
 
UP NEXT
AUM welcomes Tuskegee University on Friday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m.
 
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