ROME, Ga. ---The Auburn Montgomery baseball team split a doubleheader with the Hawks of Shorter University on Saturday, April 6 to take their three-game Gulf South Conference series two games to one.
NOTES
- AUM fell 6-5 in game one, and took game two 9-3.
- With the split, AUM's record now sits at 19-18 overall, and 9-12 in GSC play.
- The Warhawks all-time record against Shorter improved to 33-9 with the completion of the series.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
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Zach Feaster led AUM offensively, with five base hits, two runs scored and four RBI. Fester drove in all four runs in game number two.
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Matthew Zielonko matched Feaster's RBI tally with four on the day, while knocking two hits and scoring twice. Zielonko launched his team-leading sixth home run of the season in game two.
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Hayden Friesen clubbed a team-high two doubles, in addition to scoring twice and picking up three hits, in game number two, while
Kyle Khoury had two hits and two RBI in game one. Friesen officially finished the series with a team-high four doubles.
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Quinterrious Arrington logged three hits over the course of the day, with two hits, a run scored and a stolen base in game two.
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Casey Henderson and
Dalton Cobb both totaled two hits and an RBI, while Cobb also registered a run scored.
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Harrison Morris logged a run and a hit in game one, while
Sage Smelley knocked two hits, scored once and drove in a run on the afternoon.
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Troy Jones struck out eight batters over the course of 5.1 innings in game one, while surrendering four earned runs in the no-decision.
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Aaron Hill (0-2) took the loss in game one, while
Micah Henderson worked 1.2 innings of scoreless relief in the setback.
- Morris (1-0) notched his first win of 2019 for AUM in game two, allowing three earned over 4.1 innings and striking out two.
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Todd Burkett (5) struck out five batters over the final 2.1 innings of the game, en route to slaming the door shut for his team-leading fifth save of the year.
HOW IT HAPPENED GAME ONE
- Shorter would jump on AUM early in game one, putting up three runs over the course of their first two-at bats.
- The Warhawks would get one back in the third, courtesy of an RBI single from Smelley. A double by Morris with one away in the inning helped set up the run-scoring opportunity.
- Shorter would answer back in their next at-bat, however, with a two-run homer to extend their lead to 5-1.
- Khoury would provide the spark for AUM at the plate over their next few at-bats, with an RBI double in the fourth and an RBI-single in the sixth to cut AUM's deficit to just 5-3.
- The Warhawks would go on to tie the game up at five-all in the seventh, courtesy of a Zielonko double to right center, and an RBI triple from Cobb with two away.
- Shorter would retake the lead in their next at-bat in the bottom of the seventh, however, after AUM walked the bases loaded and allowed the eventual game-winning run to come across via an error.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE GAME ONE
- AUM and Shorter both tallied nine hits in game one.
- The Warhawk pitching staff struck out 11 batters in game one, marking for the second-most punch outs by AUM in a game in 2019.
- AUM left seven runners on base in game one, while the pitching staff stranded eight Hawk base runners.
HOW IT HAPPENED GAME TWO
- Shorter once again would crack the scoreboard first, putting up two runs in the first inning to jump out to an early lead over AUM.
- After slashing their deficit in half in the second on a sacrifice fly from Feaster, the Warhawks would break out for four runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead at 5-2. Zielonko would account for the big blow in the inning, with his three-run blast to put AUM out front 4-2, while Feaster would knock a two-out double to right center to account for the final run-scoring action of the inning.
- Shorter would respond with a run on an RBI walk in the bottom of the fifth to make it 5-3, but AUM would hang another four-spot up in inning number seven, to jump out to their largest lead of the series at 9-3. Feaster drove in a pair in the inning on a single to center, while C. Henderson would also pick up an RBI in the frame on a one-out single to center.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE GAME TWO
- AUM outhit Shorter in the rubber match, 14-6, marking for the third time in four games that the Orange and Black have pounded out double-digit hits.
- AUM batted 10-18 (.556) with runners on base in game two.
- Four different Warhawks compiled multi-hit efforts in game two, while Feaster (4) and Zielonko (3) combined for seven runs driven in in the contest.
- The Warhawk pitching staff walked just one batter in game two, while striking out eight.
UP NEXT
- The Warhawks will return to action on Wednesday, April 10, when they take on the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, Ga. First pitch is slated for 4:00 p.m. (CST)
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