AUM rallies for 5-4 win in Warhawks’ season opener
The No. 13 Auburn Montgomery baseball team rallied for a 5-4 victory over No. 14 Tennessee Wesleyan Friday at the AUM Baseball Complex.
The Warhawks fell behind 4-0 and scored the final five runs of the game, including the eventual game-winner in the eighth inning.
NOTES
• The Warhawks now stand at 1-0 on the season, while the Bulldogs fell to 0-1.
• AUM improved to 12-4 all-time against Tennessee Wesleyan.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Sophomore Seth Arroyo earned the victory by throwing three no-hit innings of relief. Arroyo entered the game in the seventh with a runner on second and retired the next three hitters, worked around a two-base error in the eighth and retired the side in order in the ninth to earn the win.
• Seniors Richard Nason and James Dean scattered just one hit each in three combined innings of relief.
• Junior John-Mark Cosby finished the contest 2-for-4 at the plate, driving in a pair of runs.
• Junior Deric Boone went 2-for-2 with a double, two runs scored and the game-winning RBI. Boone also stole a base.
• Senior Dalton Kelley had a double and a run scored.
• Ryan Hartman, a 10-game winner last season, struck out seven in five innings of work for the Bulldogs. Hartman allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits in the no-decision.
• Sully Rios Reyes had two hits, including a home run, and drove in two for Tennessee Wesleyan. Omar Gomez hit a solo home run for the Bulldogs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, when Tevin Johnson plated Marlor Villafana with a two-out RBI triple.
• Tennessee Wesleyan extended the lead to 4-0 with three runs in the third off AUM starter Raymond Moody. The Bulldogs used the long ball in the frame, with Reyes connecting on a two-run blast and Gomez hitting a solo homer. Moody surrendered seven hits and four runs in three innings of work.
• AUM plated its first run of 2016 and pulled to within 4-1 when Cosby drove in Kelley with a single through the left side in the bottom of the third inning. Kelley started the scoring rally with a two-out double.
• The Warhawks trimmed the deficit to one, 4-3, with a pair of unearned runs off Hartman in the fifth inning. AUM capitalized on a pair of errors to score the runs, first when Boone came in to score following a stolen base and a throwing error by catcher Paolo Montezuma, and later when a dropped fly ball in right field by Gomez allowed courtesy runner Cody Rush to score.
• AUM rallied and tied the score in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Boone scored on a single by Cosby. Boone led off the frame with a double to left field and moved around to third on a failed pick-off attempt by Austin Goss. Cosby followed by taking the first pitch he saw from reliever Dillon Dove through the hole on the right side to tie the score at 4-4.
• The Warhawks took their first lead of the season in the bottom of the eighth on a RBI single by Boone. Junior Chase Johnson led off the inning with a single to centerfield off reliever Reed Bright (0-1). Rush pinch ran for Johnson and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior Jack Folmar, before Boone took a 3-1 offering to left field, allowing Rush to score the game-winning run.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Tennessee Wesleyan committed four errors in the game, leading to a pair of unearned runs for the Warhawks. AUM committed a pair of miscues in the contest.
• The Bulldogs stranded seven runners on base, while the Warhawks left six on.
• AUM’s four pitchers walked just three hitters in the game and threw first-pitch strikes in 27-of-38 plate appearances.
• The Warhawks had two extra-base hits, compared to five for the Bulldogs.
UP NEXT
• The Warhawks and Bulldogs will conclude their three-game series with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at noon. Game one will be a seven-inning tilt, while game two will be a nine-inning game.
