MONTGOMERY, Ala. --- The Auburn Montgomery baseball team brought the winning run to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out in inning number nine trailing 7-4, but could not capitalize and would strand all three runners to ultimately fall to the University of Montevallo in their series opener on Friday, March 1 in Gulf South Conference action.
 
NOTES
- With the loss, AUM's record drops to 9-7 overall and 3-4 in GSC play.
- The Warhawk's all-time advantage over the Falcons falls to 36-31 with the setback.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Troy Jones stuck out a career-high 12 batters in the game, while allowing just one earned run over 6.1 innings of work.
- Matthew Zielonko led AUM at the dish, launching his team-leading fourth home run of the season in the game. The senior outfielder also drove in a pair of runs, and scored two runs on a pair of base hits.
- Grayson Blackwell also picked up a pair of hits in the game, in addition to driving in a run.
- Zach Cumbie and Sage Smelley both accounted for a hit and a run in the game, with Casey Henderson also picking up a hit in the contest.
- Sam Steigert (2-1) took the loss for AUM on the mound. Steigert allowed three earned runs over one inning of action, while striking out one.
- Todd Burkett tossed the final 1.2 innings of relief for AUM, surrendering no earned. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Warhawks got on the board first in the game, on Zielonko's second-inning big fly that he parked over the center field wall to put AUM up 2-0. Smelley singled to right center one batter earlier to set the stage for Zielonko's two-run long ball. 
- Montevallo would scratch their first run of the ballgame in the fourth, on a bases-loaded hit by pitch that would trim AUM's lead to 2-1.
- The Falcons would go on to take the lead their next time up in the fifth, when AUM would hand them a gift in a two-out dropped fly ball that would allow two runs to come across and give Montevallo a 3-2 advantage. 
- The Warhawks would tie the game up in the fifth on a Falcon wild pitch, but Montevallo would once again retake the lead on an RBI fielder's choice in the seventh to lead 4-3. 
- The Falcons saw their most productive offensive inning come in the eighth, plating three runs on just one hit. The inning began with a dropped fly ball by AUM, followed by a hit by pitch and an intentional walk after a sac bunt, to load the bases with one away. A hit by pitch, a walk, and a single through the left side would bring home the next three runs for Montevallo, and see them lead 7-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth. 
- The late-inning dramatics in the ninth for AUM began with a double to left field by Zielonko to lead off the inning, followed by a Brett Lightsey walk and an RBI single from Blackwell to right field that plated Zielonko. 
- Zach Feaster would get plunked one batter later to load the bases with nobody out, but Montevallo reliever Jesse Ellefson would come out of the bullpen and strikeout the next three AUM hitters to slam the door shut and thwart the Warhawk comeback attempt. 
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- AUM was outhit by Montevallo in the game, 9-7.
- The Warhawk pitching staff struck out a season-high 13 batters in the game.
- AUM went just 3-16 with runners on base, 0-4 with runners at third and less than two outs, and 0-3 with the bases loaded in the game. 
- The Orange and Black left seven runners on base in the game, while the Warhawk staff stranded 11 Montevallo base runners. 
- The Warhawks committed two errors in the field that led to three unearned runs being scored in the game. 
 
UP NEXT
- The Warhawks will wrap up their three-game series with Montevallo on Saturday, March 2, with a doubleheader beginning at 2:00 p.m. from the AUM Baseball Complex. 
 
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