MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The Auburn University at Montgomery baseball team got a combined shutout from the pitching staff and an eight-run eighth inning offensively as the Warhawks shut down No. 16 Lenoir-Rhyne University 11-0 at Q.V. Lowe Field.

Clay Slagle (1-0) tossed five innings of two-hit shutout baseball with five strikeouts to earn the win. Grant Hickman notched a save over 3.2 innings of relief work and struck out five Bears hitters. 

FROM THE DUGOUT

Score: AUM 11, LR 0
Records: AUM 1-3 | #16 LR 2-2
Location: Montgomery, Ala. | Q.V. Lowe Field
Series: LR leads 2-1
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HIGHLIGHTS

• Jackson Ceman reached on an error to open the game and scored on Jarren Wright's RBI double to left.
• Slagle wiggled out of a third-inning jam when he struck out back-to-back LR hitters to strand runners on the corner.
• Clayton Phillips clubbed his second career home run, and the first of the year for the Warhawks, to add a run for the home team in the 4th inning. 
• Hickman entered the game for AUM with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth, but got a 6-4-3 ground ball double play to escape any damage.
• An eight-run eighth inning that saw Lenoir-Rhyne use five pitchers blew the game open for AUM.
• A single and two hit-by-pitches loaded the bases for AUM and Nick Freeman worked a walk to drive in a run.
• Wright added a two-RBI single off the wall in left with one out, Zach Dew added an RBI single, and Kasey Clark doubled to right center to clear the bases and put the exclamation point on the inning and the game.

ON THE MOUND

• Making his second start of the season, Slagle (1-0) allowed just two hits and struck out five in earning his first win.
• Clay Weatherly worked one-third of an inning and faced four Bears hitters.
• Grant Hickman (1) earned his first save of the season and gave up one hit and one walk against five strikeouts.

NOTABLES

• The Warhawks pitching staff tossed a combined three-hit shutout with four walks and 10 strikeouts.
• AUM scored a season-high 11 runs on a season-high 13 hits, which included eight runs on five hits in the eighth inning alone.
• Wright hit .429 (6-for-14) on the weekend with two doubles, five RBI, three runs, and a stolen base. Wright collected multiple hits in two of the three games on the weekend.
• Clark went 4-for-10 on the weekend (.400) which included a bases-clearing double and a run scored. He also walked once, stole a base, and was hit by a pitch twice.
• Phillips' home run marked the first of the season for himself and AUM, and the Warhawks notched five extra-base hits in the game.

WORDS FROM THE WARHAWKS

"The big difference for us today was [Clay] Slagle getting it done from the start," said head coach Marty Lovrich. "He can be really good for us if he goes out with that three-pitch mix, and he had that today. As far as offense goes, in the middle of our order today, that's the production that we have been waiting to see from them. That is what we wanted to see in the Miles game, and on the doubleheader day against Lenoir-Rhyne, but that was good to see. Obviously [Grant] Hickman was huge coming in out of the bullpen in the biggest situation of the game in terms of runners on base. Overall it was a good team win and everyone contributed. That is what we want to see."

UP NEXT

AUM visits Albany, Ga. to take on Albany State University on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. to kick off a five-game road trip.

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