Baseball Set for Opening-Round Matchup of GSC Tournament Against Lee

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Auburn Montgomery Baseball Team will begin its quest for a Gulf South Conference Championship as the No. 4 seed with an opening-round matchup against No. 5 seed Lee University on Friday, May 6 at 4:00 p.m. from Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.

The Warhawks (30-19, 18-12 GSC) set an NCAA-ERA record with 30 wins in 2022, marking for the most victories since the 2016 squad that earned a trip to the NAIA World Series.

AUM was one of just two teams in the GSC this season to rank in the top five in team batting average, team earned run average, and team fielding percentage. The Warhawks' .304 batting average ranked third in the league while their .970 fielding percentage and 5.07 staff ERA both ranked fourth-best.

The Warhawks took two of three against Shorter at home their last time out to clinch the No. 4 seed. AUM's 12-3 win in game one marked for Head Coach Marty Lovrich's 300th career victory as a head coach. Earlier in the year, Coach Lovrich logged his 200th win at the helm of AUM Baseball with a 9-3 triumph over Mississippi College on March 13.

Zach Dew comes into postseason play as the Warhawk's leading hitter with a .339 batting average, highlighted by a team-high batting average of .384 in conference play. The junior third baseman batted .403 with a team-high 27 hits in April and is currently riding the momentum of a 12-game hitting streak.

Brody Syer's 55 runs batted in and 57 base hits pace the Warhawks and mark for the program's first 50-hit, 50-RBI performer since 2016. The junior outfielder ranks fourth in the GSC in RBIs while having posted a team-high 14 multi-RBI games.

On the mound, Andrew Cronan's (8-3) eight victories lead AUM and rank third in the conference while Luke Turner's (6-3) 3.39 ERA ranks fifth in the GSC among qualified pitchers. Senior reliever Sam Steigert (3-3) has held opposing hitters to just a .219 average while accounting for three wins and a pair of saves out of the bullpen.

Clay Slagle took home GSC Freshman of the Week honors on Tuesday, May 3. The freshman hurler turned in one of his best performances of the season on Saturday, April 30 against Shorter, tossing 6.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the season

The Warhawks dropped two of three to the Flames in their most recent series on March 4-5 earlier this season. The Flames currently hold a 30-18 advantage in the series history between the two programs.

Sophomore utility man Dylan Standifer comes in as the Flame's leading hitter, boasting a team-high .372 batting average, 67 base hits, 14 doubles, and 51 RBIs. Jack Nedrow (8-4) has notched a team-best eight wins while Miguel Alba (4-2) leads Lee with 70 strikeouts and sports an opponents' batting average of .174.

The winner of Friday's contest will move on to face the winner of the #1 Delta State vs. #8 Shorter contest on Saturday, May 7.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Sam Steigert: RHP; 5' 8"; Senior; Neuenburg, Germany

#27 Brody Syer: OF; 6' 1"; Junior; Oxford, Ala.

#39 Clay Slagle: RHP; 6' 2"; Sophomore; Montgomery, Ala.

#21 Zach Dew: INF; 6' 2"; Freshman; Sylacauga, Ala.

#28 Luke Turner: RHP; 6' 1"; Sophomore; Saraland, Ala.

#18 Andrew Cronan: RHP; 6' 0"; Junior; White Plains, Ala.

Players Mentioned

#3 Sam Steigert
: 5' 8"; Senior; Neuenburg, Germany
: RHP

#27 Brody Syer
: 6' 1"; Junior; Oxford, Ala.
: OF

#39 Clay Slagle
: 6' 2"; Sophomore; Montgomery, Ala.
: RHP

#21 Zach Dew
: 6' 2"; Freshman; Sylacauga, Ala.
: INF

#28 Luke Turner
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; Saraland, Ala.
: RHP

#18 Andrew Cronan
: 6' 0"; Junior; White Plains, Ala.
: RHP