LIVINGSTON, Ala. --- The Auburn Montgomery Baseball team split a doubleheader with the University of West Alabama on Friday, Feb. 15 to open up Gulf-South-Conference play, falling 5-1 in game one and winning 5-4 in game two.
NOTES
- The Warhawk's record now sits at 6-4 overall, and 1-1 in GSC action.
- AUM matched a season high in game one, using five different pitchers on the mound.
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Hank Scott made his 2019 debut for AUM on the mound in game number two.
GAME ONE
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
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Sage Smelley tallied a hit, a run and drew a walk in game one.
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Jonathan Brandt recorded AUM's lone RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly.
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Matthew Zielonko drew a team-high three walks, while
Quinterrious Arrington walked twice in the contest.
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Troy Jones (1-1) took the loss for AUM on the mound. The junior righty allowed two earned over 4.2 innings of work, while striking out one.
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Connor Smith,
Ryan Burkett,
Ross Carpenter and
Alex Graulich combined to toss the final 4.1 innings, with Carpenter striking out two batters over a season-high two innings of action.
- Cole Waites (1-0) earned the win on the mound for West Alabama. Waites struck out 11 AUM hitters over 5.1 innings of action, while allowing just one earned.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- West Alabama cracked the scoreboard first in the fifth inning, after a two-out walk and a single to right field set the stage for an infield hit to plate the first run of the game. The Tigers would grab another run on an infield hit to third one batter later to lead 2-0 through five.
- AUM would respond in their next at-bat, however, pushing a run across courtesy of a sac fly to center from Brandt. A one-out single from Smelley, and walks from Cobb and Zielonko, helped set up the sacrifice opportunity.
- UWA would deliver the game's final runs in the sixth. The Tigers would push across two runs on a double down the left field line with one away, while a Warhawk wild pitch with two down would plate the final run of the game.
- AUM put multiple runners on base in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but could not push across runs. The Warhawks loaded the bases in the ninth with nobody out, but a pair of strikeouts and a fly-out to center closed the book on the ballgame.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Neither team committed an error in game one.
- AUM left 12 runners on base, while UWA stranded 11.
- The Warhawk's three base hits in the ballgame marked for a season low.
- AUM drew nine walks, marking for their second-highest total of the year.
GAME TWO
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Smelley drove in a game-high three runs in game number two, with all of them coming on a pinch-hit double to left field in the sixth inning to tie the game up at four-all. The junior infielder now has a team-high 11 RBI's on the year.
- Zielonko picked up two base hits in the contest, while scoring a run and driving in one.
- Brandt registered a hit and a run scored, while Arrington accounted for a hit and an RBI.
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Keegan Fairley (1-0) picked up the win in relief. The junior right-hander tossed the final three frames of the ballgame, striking out two and allowing just one base hit.
- Scott saw a team-high 3.2 innings of work out of the bullpen in his 2019 AUM debut, striking out two and giving up no runs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- West Alabama chased starter
Todd Burkett in the first inning, after a one-out single and four consecutive walks led to UWA's first two runs of the game. Two more of T. Burkett's runs would score off of Scott, courtesy of a single through the left side, and an RBI groundout to second, as the score would read 4-0 after one inning.
- AUM would scratch a run in the third, via a Zielonko RBI knock to center field that plated
Harrison Morris. A Morris single and a Henderson walk with one out would help set up the run-scoring opportunity.
- The Warhawks would put the first three batters of the sixth inning on base, via a UWA error, a Brandt single through the left side, and
Grayson Blackwell reaching base on a fielder's choice.
- After a pair of strikeouts had things looking bleak for AUM in the sixth, Smelley would salvage the inning and clear the bases with a three-run pinch-hit double to left to tie the game at four-all. Arrington would give AUM the lead at 5-4 one batter later with a bloop single to center field.
- Fairley would go on to retire the side in order over the next two innings to close the book on the game.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- The Warhawks outhit the Tigers in the contest, 7-6.
- AUM left six runners on base in game number two, while the pitching staff stranded nine UWA runners.
- The Orange and Black batted .455 (5-11) with two outs, and .429 (3-7) to lead off innings in the game.
- AUM pitching held UWA to just a .091 (1-11) average with runners on, and a .125 (1-8) average with runners in scoring position.
UP NEXT
- The Warhawks will play the third and final game of their GSC series with UWA on Saturday, Feb. 16. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m.
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